


Whisper In My Ear

by dinosaursmate



Series: See It Turning Red [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Coming Out, Lots of it, M/M, Royal Harry, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-24 02:49:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15620871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaursmate/pseuds/dinosaursmate
Summary: “Well,” Harry began. “I thought it was about time.”Louis lowered himself to sit on the bed. “Time?”“Yes.” Harry shifted his weight awkwardly. “I shall inform my advisor that I intend to propose to you, and that we need to make the necessary preparations for the revelation of my sexuality. My coming out.”“I see.” Louis leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows. “Telling me that you need to inform your legal advisor before you propose to me isn’t exactly a big, romantic gesture.”Harry smirked. “I’m sure you knew when you got with me that these things wouldn’t exactly be… usual.”---Harry is now King, and Louis has been living with him for a year. They are ready for the next step, and all Louis has to do is wait for Harry to ask the question.





	Whisper In My Ear

**Author's Note:**

> It's been six months since I finished posting [See It Turning Red](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13382277) and so I thought it was about time for a sequel!! :))
> 
> [Jacky](https://dimpled-halo.tumblr.com/) betad! the wonderful artwork is by my darling [Pasmwa.](https://p-a-s-m-w-a.tumblr.com/)

When Louis finally clocked off, he was exhausted. He had done the early shift in the hotel, and now he was ready to get home.

Everybody at work knew him as the man who gave nothing away. He shrouded his life in secrecy and tried his best not to truly make any friends. He was a personable and caring manager but, when it came to his personal life, he kept it firmly separate.

He had good reason. It was of the utmost importance that nobody found out who his partner was, or where he lived. 

His journey home was uneventful. He had never really seen a traffic jam on the Isle of Smythe, much to his relief. Rush hour just tended to mean there were more than three cars on the road at any one time. When he pulled into the underground car park, he loosened his tie and sighed as he got out of the car. 

Heading straight for the drawing room, he collapsed on the sofa. It wasn’t very proper, but the staff in the palace had long since got used to the improper behaviour Louis and the king exhibited. Of course, Louis had to be careful during the day. Today, for example, Harry had been busy with meetings all day. Louis glanced at the clock. It was coming up to 4pm, so the king was likely in a meeting with the Chief Minister. 

Louis climbed to his feet and as he left the drawing room, he bumped into Steve.

“Hello, sir,” Steve said, inclining his head. “Good day at work?”

“Oh, can’t complain. Is Harry in a meeting?”

“Yes. He’s with the Chief Minister. Could be a long one.”

“Alright. I’m going to get changed, probably watch some telly. If you see him before I do, let him know?”

“Of course, Louis,” Steve replied. “Do you need anything?”

“No, love. Thank you.”

Louis headed upstairs. They had been living back in the main palace for nearly a year, but Louis still missed the north palace. Its architecture, its proximity to the sea, its traditional feel. Still, he was happy enough to call this his home.

Louis stripped off and changed into a tracksuit, before heading out onto the balcony of the master bedroom. Louis’ house back home had been very nice, but his living room had been the same size as this very balcony. His house was now paying for itself, gathering a healthy amount of rent in a bank account he had no reason to touch. His wage from the hotel was more than adequate to pay his outgoings and he supposed if he and Harry were to become engaged, he would be expected to give up working altogether.

The thought gave him a little tickle of anxiety. He supposed he would accompany Harry on official visits, maybe do some of his own, but he couldn’t bear the thought of being kept, or not doing anything for himself. 

Anyway, it was all hypothetical at the moment.

“Darling!” Harry’s voice from inside the room startled Louis. “You’re home. Thank God.”

Louis shook himself out of a daze and headed inside. Harry was dressed up in an extremely well-fitting suit and, as he felt whenever Harry was wearing the most expensive clothing, Louis wanted to rip and tear it off of him.

“You look nice,” he remarked instead.

“I have been in my meeting with the Chief Minister.”

“Anything interesting going on in the world of politics?” Louis asked in a monotone voice. 

“Just the same old murmurs of me being too young to be King.”

Louis frowned indignantly. “Queen Elizabeth II was younger than you when she ascended to the throne.”

Harry shrugged and shook his head. “People like to complain about anything and everything. How was your day?”

“Let’s just say I am happy to be home.”

Harry hummed in response and moved in to kiss Louis on the cheek. As he pulled away, he ran the back of his index finger over Louis’ cheekbone. 

“I was wondering if-” A knock on the door interrupted Harry and he growled in frustration. “What is it?”

A butler named Evans opened the door and stepped inside. He bowed his head.

“Your Majesty. I have been sent to inform you that your request for a lamb dinner shall be fulfilled. Also, your legal advisor confirmed an eight o’clock meeting with you tomorrow morning.”

Louis looked at Harry curiously.

“Thank you, Evans. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like some privacy with Mr. Tomlinson until dinnertime. We are not to be disturbed again unless it is urgent.”

“Very good, Sire.”

Evans shuffled out, quietly closing the door behind him. Louis folded his arms and turned towards Harry.

“Your legal advisor?”

Harry cleared his throat. “Yes. Um… I wanted to talk to you about something, as a matter of fact.”

Louis shrugged to indicate that Harry should proceed. 

“”Well,” Harry began. “I thought it was about time.”

Louis lowered himself to sit on the bed. “Time?”

“Yes.” Harry shifted his weight awkwardly. “I shall inform my advisor that I intend to propose to you, and that we need to make the necessary preparations for the revelation of my sexuality. My coming out.”

“I see.” Louis leaned back and propped himself up on his elbows. “Telling me that you need to inform your legal advisor before you propose to me isn’t exactly a big, romantic gesture.”

Harry smirked. “I’m sure you knew when you got with me that these things wouldn’t exactly be… usual.”

“You’re not that unusual, King Harry. Let’s see: your breath smells just  _ awful _ in the mornings. You tripped over your own feet after breakfast today, and I really wish you would shower immediately after your workout instead of coming back up here and stinking out the entire bedroom.”

Harry stared at Louis for a couple of seconds before stepping forward, grabbing hold of his hands and yanking them so hard that Louis’ elbows disappeared from under him and he fell flat to the bed. Harry straddled his waist and pinned his wrists to the mattress.

“I tell you that I intend to propose to you, to ask for your hand in marriage, and your response is to insult me?”

“Mm, but I  _ love _ it when you’re so vividly human.”

“You called me stinky!” Harry pouted. “I really like it when  _ you  _ smell sweaty, you know.”

“Ugh!” Louis giggled. “Further proof that you are disgusting.”

Harry released Louis’ wrists and swatted him on the ribs before pushing Louis’ t-shirt all the way up. He leaned down to bury his nose in the soft tufts of hair in Louis’ left armpit. Louis shrieked, wriggling as he felt Harry’s hot breath on his inner arm.

“Mm, lovely,” Harry said with a laugh. 

“Oh my God, you’re so weird!” Louis whined. “And I don’t even smell. Do I?!”

“Like  _ heaven.” _

Louis smiled, despite himself. Harry removed his nose from Louis’ armpit and gave a quick lick over his nipple. Louis cried out softly, surprised at the tickle of arousal that coursed through him.

“God. You’re gonna pay for that.”

Harry sat up straight. “Now, why would I pay you for sex when you give it to me for free  _ all the time?” _

“No, I’m only charging you for nipple licks.”

Harry let out a loud, sexy groan and leaned back down to take Louis’ nipple gently between his teeth. He licked and sucked and nipped at it and Louis writhed, starting to become rather warm and feeling himself stiffen in his tracksuit bottoms. Harry pulled away and Louis felt the sharp slap of cool air hit his spit-slick nipple. Harry beamed down at him, cheeks rosy.

He climbed off of Louis and slipped his hand into an inside pocket of his suit jacket. 

“Your payment, Thomas,” Harry said airily as he pulled a note out and threw it down unceremoniously onto Louis. “Thank you, get home safe.”

Louis frowned up at him in distaste as he grabbed the note. He found it so weird that Harry carried cash on him, and as Louis crumpled the note in his fist, he frowned. The note was crisp and new, the edges digging into Louis’ palm. He opened his hand and his eyes widened.

“Harry.”

Louis uncrumpled the note as best he could and stared down at it. There, staring off into the distance, was the face of King Harry, his expression stern and yet not unkind.

“They’ll start circulating in a week or so,” Harry explained. “I was going to show you after dinner, but I’m afraid you rather ruined that plan by presenting me with the perfect excuse to throw it at you.”

“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Louis said, shuffling up onto his knees. “You look rather sexy, I think.”

“Please,” Harry scoffed. “My father’s portrait will be on the reverse of the fifty-pound and the twenty-pound. The late queen will be on the fifteen and the ten, and my grandfather will stay on the five.”

“I still cannot get to grips with the fact this country had a fifteen-pound note.”

“Well, never joke to  _ anybody _ about getting rid of it. The country is rather attached to it, for one reason or another. They get fairly wound up if you joke about it.”

“It sounds like they are more attached to the fifteen-pound note than they are to the monarchy.”

Harry cackled loudly. “I think you’re right!”

-

When Harry rolled out of bed at seven, Louis turned over to go back to sleep. It was his day off and he was determined to have a lie in.

“Good luck,” he murmured as he heard Harry shuffling around the room. 

“I’ll let you know. Hopefully they’ll say it’ll be a fairly simple process.”

“Well,” Louis said with a yawn, cracking his eye open. “I’ll be around here somewhere. I’ll look forward to finding out if we’re engaged or not.”

“It’s not like that.” Harry crouched down to face Louis. “It’s more like… authorisation to propose to you. You still have to wait for me to ask, and who knows how long I’ll wait?”

“Mm.” Louis rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. “So, what you’re saying is that after all this, you’re still unsure of whether you  _ actually _ want to marry me?”

“Precisely.” Harry pecked Louis on the cheek. “Meet for lunch?”

“Mm, fine. Now get out and leave me in peace.”

As it happened, Louis couldn’t get back to sleep and so he pottered about a bit. He showered, dressed, watched a bit of television, had some breakfast brought up. By the time he left the bedroom, it was past ten.

“Good morning, sir,” Steve said as Louis passed him on his way downstairs. “I trust you had a restful sleep?”

Louis stopped and smiled. “Wonderful, thank you, Steve.”

“Your gentleman is still in his meeting, but I trust he’ll be finished soon.”

“If he comes looking for me, I’ll either be in the gym or the kitchen.”

Steve grinned. “I’ll let him know you’re in the kitchen, sir.”

Louis gave Steve a playfully stern look before being on his way. Stubbornly, he headed down to the gym and hopped onto the treadmill, upping the gradient and speed. He started his swift uphill walk and dialled his mother’s number.

“Hello, Mum. How are things?”

Louis caught up with his mother. He didn’t get to see her as much as he used to, now that he lived on the Isle of Smythe. Still, he tended to pop over for a visit whenever Harry had to go away. He had nothing to do, after all, not until he was able to accompany Harry.

_ “How is your boy?” _ Louis’ mum asked. 

They never spoke specifics about Harry, the palace, or anything related to the monarchy over the phone. It was too much of a risk after Britain’s phone hacking scandal of the early 2000s. Louis spoke to his mother in vagueness, telling her that things were going well and that there was the possibility of a proposal on the cards. Louis’ mother understood the implication and the magnitude of that. She knew it would involve a coming out, a total and complete upheaval of both Louis and Harry’s lives. 

_ “Oh, darling. That’s huge.” _

“I know.” Louis sighed. “But let us not get ahead of ourselves. I am not betrothed yet.”

He hung up with his mother, promising to visit her soon. He sped up the treadmill, breaking into a run for a few minutes before slowing to a stop altogether. That would do for today.

He headed for a shower - one could not be a hypocrite, after all - before making his way to the kitchen to see if there were any pre-lunch snacks he fancied.

Harry had instructed all members of the household to treat and address Louis as his partner and, when he walked into the kitchen, everybody stopped what they were doing to acknowledge him and bow their heads. Louis smiled awkwardly.

“Hello,” he said. A few staff members near to him mumbled  _ sir _ in response. “Ms. Selley?”

Anne Selley stepped out from around the corner and inclined her head. “Mr. Tomlinson, sir.”

“Please, Ms. Selley. Come with me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Louis turned on his heel and walked out into the hall. Anne trotted after him and once also in the hall, she closed the door behind her.

“Louis.”

“Hullo, Mum.” Louis kissed her on the cheek. “Harry and I are having lunch shortly. Are you free to join us?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I presume you run a kitchen that is capable of coping without you for an hour.”

Anne laughed. “Yes, I believe I do.”

“Wonderful. Is it too short notice to prepare a strawberries and cream sponge cake? I thought it might be a nice surprise for His Majesty, not only to have yourself present, but to have his favourite cake for dessert.”

“A lovely idea, Louis. What time are we talking?”

“Maybe an hour. His Majesty is meeting with legal and then we are to lunch.”

Anne raised her eyebrows. “Legal?”

“It’ll all become evident in time, Mum. Just some technicalities. Right, I’ll send for you. Care to fetch me a few biscuits?”

-

Harry could barely contain his delight when he entered the smaller, private dining room where Louis had requested to meet him. Louis had arranged for just a few members of staff to serve them, staff whom Louis knew Harry trusted. They may not have been butlers as such, but it meant Anne could be there, and they could speak fairly freely.

“Mum, I’m not sure if my beloved invited you here to learn of our news.”

“I didn’t,” Louis said, slight warning in his tone. “I invited your mother because I thought it was high time you lunched with her again. I didn’t think she need know what you deem  _ our news _ quite yet, as there really isn’t much  _ news _ to tell.”

“Oh.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “But you can’t keep the poor woman in suspense, now. She’ll think you’re pregnant or something.”

Anne let out a small, tense laugh, staring at her son. “Well?”

“I had a meeting with my legal advisor today. Um-” Harry glanced up at Louis. “I informed him that some time in the near future, I wish to ask Mr. Tomlinson for his hand in marriage, and that we should prepare for everything that entails. I expect this country to deal with it fairly well, but I also anticipate some unrest.”

Anne chewed the inside of her cheek as she regarded Harry. “Your international relations shall take quite the hit.”

“Hm. I don’t have too many of those. The British Monarchy take care of all that. Let us not forget that I’m not a real king.”

“Of course you are,” Anne retorted.

“Well. If they try and throw me out, I’ll just inform them I’m not even eligible for the throne.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” Anne frowned at him from across the wide table. “Swat him, Louis.”

Louis swiped at Harry’s upper arm, causing him to yelp.

“I won’t have the pair of you bullying me,” Harry replied. “Anyway. It wasn’t that I was asking permission, but I was advised that, although difficult, I shall be able to do it and come out the other side relatively unscathed.”

Louis smiled and pecked him on the cheek. “Well, I appreciate you going through all this trouble for little old me.”

“Times are changing, and if I can force people to keep up by coming out to the prying eyes of the world, then so be it.”

“Mm, I love you.” Louis slid his hand onto Harry’s thigh and squeezed. “Lots and lots.”

Harry grinned at him, before turning to grin at his mother, too.

“So,” he said, still smiling. “What’s for dessert?”

-

Louis turned away from the mirror and opened the bathroom window. There was a rose garden just outside of their bedroom window and, in a little clearing, a few members of the household staff were doing some kind of cardio boxing class. Louis let out a little laugh as he turned back to the mirror and stared at his reflection. Harry had made him shave. He said it was because stubble looked scruffy, but Harry had suffered beard rash in some intimate places a couple of weeks ago, so Harry’s excuses weren’t fooling Louis. Louis smirked to himself as he got undressed, just changing into some tracksuit bottoms before making his way out into the bedroom.

Harry was standing out on the balcony. Louis felt a curious tickle in his gut and he quietly crept up behind the king, glancing towards the direction in which he was looking.

A man who Louis couldn’t quite place was boxing with a trainer, topless and sweaty. The man was in very good shape indeed and Harry wasn’t taking his eyes off of him.

_ “Your Majesty!  _ Are you ogling that gentleman?”

Harry spun around at comic speed. “No.”

“You were!” Louis poked him in the ribs. 

“I was just observing the class.”

Louis spread his arms either side of him to show off his topless body. “Well, in His Majesty’s  _ shrewd observations,  _ is he sexier than me?”

“Of course not,” Harry said quickly, grabbing Louis by the waist and pulling him close. “Nobody is as sexy as you.”

Louis frowned, unimpressed. “Hmm.”

“Oh, come on,” Harry teased, kissing Louis on the neck. “I was just looking, my love. Admiring.”

“And when you admire other men, are you comparing them to me?”

“No.” Harry smiled softly. “I never compare anybody to you, as there is no point. Don’t tell me you never look?”

“Why would I look?” Louis said airily. 

“You’re a liar.” Harry pulled him even closer. “I must say, I love jealousy on you.”

“Shut up.”

“Nobody in this household would dare come anywhere near me, even if I wanted to. They know full well I am yours.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Darling, if there is a woman out there prepared to sleep with Beyonce’s husband, there’s a man out there who is prepared to sleep with mine.”

“Did you just compare me to Beyonce?”

“No, I compared myself to Beyonce. Anyway, don’t be naive. Even Prince Philip had a mistress, you know.”

“There’s no proof of that,” Harry replied. “Anyway, I’m not  _ naive _ on the matter. May I remind you that I am literally the product of the previous King’s affair?”

Louis paused. “Yes. Quite right.”

“I’m much more faithful than my dear father was.” Harry smirked. “Are you aware you called me your husband?”

Louis sighed and draped his arms around Harry’s shoulders. “Rumour has it, you intend to ask for my hand in marriage. Whether I say yes or not is still up in the air.”

“What do you want?” Harry asked, grinning stupidly. “Would you like me to blow you? Right now, on this balcony? So the entire boxing class sees their king on his knees? Performing a lewd act in public?”

“Yes. Go on, get on with it.”

Louis watched as Harry’s eyes widened, his body froze. A laugh bubbled out of Louis, erupting in a loud cackle, so loud that a couple of staff members looked up at them.

“I’m obviously joking. God.” Louis pulled away and walked back into the bedroom, Harry trotting after him. “Did you think I was going to make you do it?”

“For a split second!”

Louis giggled and grabbed Harry by the worn, tattered t-shirt he had changed into while Louis had been shaving. He walked backwards, pulling Harry towards the bed until they both fell, landing on the plush duvet with a soft thud.

“So, come on. Tell me what the advisors said.”

“Okay.” Harry took a deep breath and sighed. “Well, my mother is right that it could damage international relations with certain countries, but as we’re such a small country, they don’t see it as too large of an issue. Other than that, they’re fairly optimistic about it. PR wise, they reckon it will serve to further show us as a ‘modern monarchy’,” Harry rolled his eyes, “you know, in keeping with the times, and such.”

“So you’ve been given the go ahead.”

Harry smirked. “Yes. Now you just have to wait.”

“I suppose I do.”

-

Louis threw his toast crust down onto his plate. “But say I don’t want to give up work?”

“Louis, it isn’t a case of you being relegated to housewife duties. How do you expect to carry on as normal once we announce an engagement? You will be betrothed to the monarch. People would flood to the hotel to catch a glimpse of you and it would be impractical at best, and dangerous at worst.”

Louis scoffed and folded his arms. “This is so old fashioned.”

“It’s not about that,” Harry sighed, sounding exasperated. “Once we marry, you will be a royal. You’ll be expected to attend events with me and take on duties of your own. There will be no opportunity for acting like a civilian, Louis.”

Louis grabbed his mug of tea and swigged from it. There were some things he insisted on bringing with him when he moved in, and his favourite mug was one of them. The silly little teacups in the palace barely held a mouthful of tea and that just wouldn’t do. 

Louis didn’t feel elegant enough to live here. He would likely be marrying Harry, and then he would be a member of the royal family himself. Times certainly were changing, but then again, even Harry wasn’t quite refined enough to live up to Queen Elizabeth’s standards, for example.

“Things are different these days, Harry.”

“That may well be, darling. But I still have duties, and the public are still celebrity-obsessed.” Harry paused with his cup midway to his mouth. “That is what you’ll be, darling. A celebrity.  _ If _ you would like to marry me - if you say yes when I ask you - this is just all something that comes with the territory, I’m afraid.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

Harry put his cup down and sighed, yet again. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not having it.”

Harry stood to his feet. “You don’t have a choice. Well - you do. You do not  _ have _ to marry me.”

“You haven’t even asked yet!”

Harry balled up his napkin and threw it onto the table. “Well, maybe I shan’t, after all!”

He stormed out of the room, and Louis watched him leave. He scoffed softly as Steve stood from his seat. He had been so quiet that Louis had forgotten he was there. Steve bowed his head before heading quickly in pursuit of Harry.

Louis was left alone in the breakfast room and he balled his own napkin up and threw it onto the table. There was no question about it, of course, he would agree to marry Harry. He assumed that Harry would still be asking, despite what he had said.

Louis sighed, stood up and drained his mug. He headed off on a walk around the grounds, whistling for Honeycomb as he made his way out.

Honeycomb liked Louis, but he never quite reacted to him the way he reacted to Harry. He galloped off into the woods while Louis stayed close to the palace, watching as the dog disappeared among the trees. If Louis followed, he would eventually come to the spot where Harry was with Logan when the bomb went off in the palace. 

Louis remembered it well. He was seventeen, and he arrived home from a house party to discover his mother still awake, sitting in the living room and watching the news. 

“It’s  _ terrible,  _ Louis,” she had said. “Everybody, save for the king, is presumed dead.”

The British royal family was so large and widespread, that Louis could hardly get his head around the fact that all of Harry’s family had been present on that night. Every single person in line to the throne of the Isle of Smythe. Harry said there had been seventeen of them, gathered for a celebration. There had been four children present.

Louis sighed, his chest tight as if he had been holding breath. Harry could so easily have died that night. If he and his father had been killed, there would be no royal family left to ascend the throne. 

Louis rounded a corner and, in the distance, he could see the rose garden that laid beneath his and Harry’s windows. There was no one to be seen this morning, save for the gardener mowing the lawn off in the distance. The overwhelming, distinctive smell of freshly cut grass enveloped Louis and he felt a little lighter.  

“Honeycomb!” Louis called. “Honey?”

He searched the treeline for any movement, and none came. Just as panic started to build in his gut, he spotted a flash of orange to his right and Honeycomb came careering into him, nearly knocking him over.

“You silly dog!” He laughed. “What on  _ earth  _ would Harry have said if I’d lost you?”

Honeycomb responded with an excited yelp, almost akin to a scream. Harry had told Louis it was a breed characteristic which was referred to as the toller scream. It always put Louis on edge. 

Honeycomb took off again towards the rose garden and Louis followed. A gentle breeze carried the sweet fragrance towards him. Harry’s father had planted the garden beneath the window for that very reason, because the scent was a lovely thing to wake up to in the summer when the balcony doors were flung open. Louis stopped as he entered the garden, looked up to the balcony and saw Harry standing there, watching him.

Harry immediately disappeared into the bedroom and Louis sighed.

“Come on, Honey. We need to speak with your daddy.”

Honeycomb’s ears pricked up at the word, and he heartily followed Louis back into the palace.

-

Harry was nowhere to be found. Not in the bedroom, not in his office, not in any of the meeting rooms. Louis finally located Steve, sitting in a deep windowsill having a conversation on the phone. Steve ended the call, stood up and bowed his head.

“Sir.”

“Where is His Majesty?”

“Throne room. He is having a fitting for his trip to Britain next week.”

“Thank you, Steve. Uh…” Louis chewed on his bottom lip. “Is he quite alright?”

“Alright, sir?”

“Is he angry with me?”

Steve frowned. “He seemed… mildly irritated, that’s all.”

Louis sighed and nodded his head. “Thank you, Steve.”

“Sir.”

Louis quickly made his way through the corridors, the days of not knowing his way around long gone. He burst into the throne room without thinking, and everybody stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at him.

“Do you mind?” Harry asked incredulously.

Louis looked around the room. Somebody cleared their throat and everybody resumed their tasks.

“I was wondering if I could have a word,” Louis said as he approached Harry.

“Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“I’m happy to talk while they work.”

Harry glanced at him out the side of his eye. “Alright.”

“I’m sorry for becoming inflammatory. I feel very passionately about my independence.”

“Louis, nobody wants to take away your independence. But you need to understand that integrating yourself into my life like you have is going to have consequences. And, if you choose to marry me, it is like a job in itself. You become a known figure, there is no normal life for you ever again.” Harry turned to look at him pointedly. “It is a huge decision to make, Louis, not one to be taken lightly.”

Louis sighed and turned away, staring up at the high ceiling.

“Louis and I would like the room, please,” Harry said, and all of a sudden staff members all started exiting the room. The tailor slipped the suit jacket from Harry’s shoulders and they were alone.

“Don’t want everybody to hear you dumping me?” Louis asked lightly.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Harry rolled his eyes and turned to look out of the window. “I don’t want you to agree to this and find yourself bitterly unhappy. You cannot have a normal job, and you cannot walk down the street anonymously. You give up all that stuff.”

Louis nodded. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“There may be times when you are so busy you don’t have time to blink and there may be times when you have so little to do you want to scream.”

“Yes.”

Harry hooked his index and middle fingers on each hand into the front of Louis’ belt and pulled him close, with such exertion that Harry let out a grunt. Louis slammed into him with a surprised yelp.

“In return, you’ll get to live in the grandest palace on the island. You’ll be the envy of every man and woman, and you’ll be waited on hand and foot.” 

“Nothing else matters, as long as I am with you.”

“Ah yes, and you get me.” Harry nudged Louis’ nose with his own. “And every day I leave you all alone, I’ll come home and fuck you to make up for it.”

A little tickle of arousal waved through Louis. “Oh, will you?”

“And when I’m gone for longer, upon my return, I’ll take you to bed and take you apart, piece by piece.”

Louis took a deep, steadying breath. “Is that so?”

“Mm, yes.” Harry slipped his fingers into the hair at the back of Louis’ neck and tugged. Louis gasped. “As long as you remember who your king is.”

Louis’ eyes fluttered closed.  _ “Yes,  _ Your Majesty.”

“As long as you know when to submit to me.”

Harry loosened his grip and Louis fell to his knees with a dull thud. He opened his eyes and gazed up at Harry, whose breathing had quickened. Harry’s hands, steady as a rock, slowly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his trousers, and unzipped his fly.

“Sir?” Louis asked quietly.

“Hm?” Harry hummed in reply, palming over his shaft, prominent and visible through his underwear.

“We’re in the throne room.”

Harry furrowed his brow for a second before a smirk spread across his face. He held his hand out to help Louis up and led him over to the big, ugly, gold throne that he had sat in at his coronation. Harry pushed his trousers down and they landed in a crumpled heap around his ankles. He sat down on the throne, and Louis leaned in to kiss him before returning to his knees in front of the king. 

He pulled Harry’s hard cock out of his boxers and took him straight into his mouth. Harry groaned, wiggling slightly before slipping his fingers into Louis’ hair. There they stayed, teasing and grasping and pulling. Louis could feel his own cock filling up swiftly, distracted when Harry suddenly jolted and tensed beneath him. Louis pulled away and frowned up at him

“Get out!” Harry cried, looking beyond Louis. Someone must have walked in. “Leave us!”

“Sorry, Your Majesty!” a man replied, sounding panicked. 

Louis heard the door close, and waited for Harry to react.

“I am going to get into so much trouble.” Harry smirked down at Louis before raising his eyebrows. “Well?”

Louis took him back in at once, bobbing his head with fervour. Harry seemed close and desperate, as if the intrusion had aroused him. Louis would not be surprised.

Harry came not long later and dutifully, Louis swallowed, carefully tucked Harry back into his boxers, and gently placed himself in Harry’s lap.

“I love it when we play King,” Harry murmured into Louis’ hair. “You can be King next time.”

Louis giggled stupidly. “Alright, darling.”

“Once I get the courage to leave this room, I shall take you upstairs and fuck you.”

“Are you really going to get into trouble?”

Harry shrugged. “A little trouble. I rather think some of the older, stuffier members of the court don’t like having such a young king.”

“Mm, especially now there’s two immature twenty-somethings running around the place.”

A few minutes passed before Harry stood, pulled up his trousers and the pair of them left the room. 

“My throne needs disinfecting,” Harry remarked to an embarrassed-looking butler as they passed.

-

Louis could have fallen asleep right there on the rug, but it wouldn’t have been proper. He sat up, his bare bum, red and sore against the carpet.

“Up you get,” Harry said, standing over him and looking down, amused. He took a swig from a glass of water. “Need a hand?”

Louis scoffed, but held a hand out anyway. “You’ve exhausted me.”

“I can’t help it, not if you will submit to me.”

“Don’t start.” Louis climbed to his feet. “You hurt my bum.”

Harry frowned questioningly and Louis turned around to show Harry his bum, raw from friction burn.

“Ah!” Harry said. “No spanking for a few days, then.”

“Stop it! Get dressed. You need to go back to your fitting.”

Louis threw himself down onto the bed and watched Harry get dressed. He had been foolish to question his future with Harry. It would be an honour to serve alongside him.

“So,” Harry said as he smoothed down his shirt and popped a chewing gum into his mouth. “I take it I convinced you, then? To leave your old life behind and join mine?”

Louis folded his arms and smiled. “I’ll give up everything. Just ask me to.”

-

Louis was on edge, waiting for a proposal that never came. Well, he knew it  _ would. _ But he was hardly expecting Harry to take his time quite so much. It had been over a month since Harry had gained ‘permission’ from his legal advisors and Louis found himself getting antsy.

And now Harry was touring Europe. Louis, of course, couldn’t accompany him until they were publicly engaged, so he busied himself with work and a visit home. Harry sent him glorious photos of Italy and Spain and tasty looking dishes, and Louis sent Harry pictures of his mother’s dog.

_ “Truly, I wish I was home with you. How is Anne? Doing well in the kitchen?” _

“Yes, she’s doing wonderfully in the kitchen.” Louis rolled his eyes. He couldn’t get used to having to talk about things in such a roundabout way. “I have to tell you, she made the most incredible chocolate chip cookies last week.”

_ “I can’t wait to try them,”  _ Harry said with a touch of sadness.  _ “I had best be off. Call me when you’re back.” _

When Louis was in the palace, he could call Harry on the secure line and they could speak freely. Being able to speak freely was the only thing that kept Louis in the palace when Harry was away.

“Goodnight, Your Majesty.”

_ “Goodnight.” _

Louis sighed as they hung up, looking at his mother before rolling his eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m not looking at you like anything. But I really must come to the palace to try these cookies.”

Louis grinned and shook his head. He removed the tea cosy and picked up the teapot, glancing at his mother as he started to pour the tea.

“You have visited the palace before.”

“Ah,” Louis’ mum said. “But not as the king’s mother-in-law.”

“Stop it!” Louis whined. “Can you aid me in not thinking about the proposal for just one minute?”

“Sorry, sorry, darling.”

“He will ask when he sees fit, Mum. There is a lot to think about. Concerns and practicalities. One cannot be spontaneous when one is King. I ought to tell you to keep your nose out.”

“Louis!”

Louis grinned placatingly. “You’ll be the first to know, Mother. Promise.”

Louis stayed home for another night, and headed back to the Isle of Smythe the next morning. He tried to reach Harry, but he was busy, already out and about. Louis decided to go for a walk by the cliffs. He wished he could have taken one of the dogs, but he wasn’t allowed to take them off the grounds. The dogs were too identifiable.

Harry would be home in three days and until then, Louis had to entertain himself. He was back to work tomorrow, at least. He sat down near the edge of the cliff and thought about the fact his career was almost over. He had no idea what his day-to-day life would look like once they were married, but he supposed he had to trust Harry. Harry had told him that his level of engagement and involvement could be negotiated, and that they would do anything they could to ensure Louis was as happy as he could be. 

He hoped Harry would propose soon. If anything, Louis felt like everything was on hold until then. He was holding his breath. Every day he woke up wondering if today would be the day. He hated it.

The next morning, Louis got told off by the housekeeper for having Honeycomb sleep on his and Harry’s bed. Two days to go.

He headed off to work earlier than he needed, and stayed far later than his shift dictated. His colleagues regarded him curiously. He often did this when Harry was away, but when Harry was home Louis could never leave work quick enough. 

“Mr. Tomlinson, go home,” Louis’ manager, Dominic, said. “If you polish anymore spoons you’ll turn into one.”

Louis would rather love to spoon with Harry. “Then I shall move onto forks.”

“Your next shift starts in eight hours. Will you please go home?”

Louis rolled his eyes and pulled his phone from his pocket. 

**_H_ **

_ ‘I’ve been trying to call you at home! They say you aren’t back from work!’ _

“Alright,” he said to Dominic. “I’ll head home.”

As he walked to his car, Louis tapped out a brief apology to Harry and said he would be home shortly if Harry was still up. Louis drove quickly home and ran into the drawing room just as the phone rang.

“Hello, darling!”

_ “Lou! Why were you working so late?” _

“Because I hate coming home to an empty bed. How was your day? You’re not tired?”

_ “Well, I actually have some news. My last engagement, in Belgium, has been cancelled.” _

Louis bolted upright from where he had slouched on the antique chair. “So…”

_ “I’ll be home tomorrow! Early afternoon.” _

“I’ll be at work!” Louis whined. “I finish at four.”

_ “Well, then I shall wait for you with bated breath. I promise I’ll be home for you.” _

Louis sighed. “I love you.”

_ “I love you, too. I think we should get an early night tomorrow.” _

Louis laughed softly and twirled the phone cord around his finger. “Sounds perfect.”

-

Louis’ exasperated manager frowned at Louis’ clock-watching, as the last hour of his shift approached. He sat down to send an email and he was bouncing his knees so compulsively that Dominic leapt up out of his own seat and approached Louis.

“Louis, go home. You stayed late last night to work hard and yet now you’re bordering on completely useless.”

“Sorry.” Louis rubbed his forehead. “I’m so sorry, Dominic.”

“It’s okay, Louis. But you stayed late last night, so you’re leaving early today. Go.”

Louis had an urge in him to leave work like a bullet leaving a gun, but he restrained himself. He sighed, stood up, and smiled at Dominic.

“Thank you.”

Dominic betrayed a smile. “I can tell you’re eager to get home.”

When Louis pulled into the underground car park of the palace, he breathed a sigh of relief and practically ran to the lift. The lift attendant greeted him with a huge smile, probably just grateful for something to do.

“Sir.”

“Hello, Graham. Slow day in the lift business?”

Graham snorted in amusement before composing himself. “Sorry, sir. Yes, not much activity today.”

“Well,” Louis said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall of the lift. “I find it rather strange that we must have a lift attendant. Even His Majesty is capable of simply pressing a button. Forgive me, but I think it is a position that is old-fashioned and we should get rid of it altogether.”

“Sir?” Graham stared at Louis, wide-eyed.

“Oh, don’t look so downtrodden, Graham,” Louis said with a smile. “No one is kicking you out. We’ll find you a more interesting job to do. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I have no title, Graham. You may call me Louis. Now if you’ll excuse me, I do miss the King terribly.”

Louis emerged from the lift at the top of the grand staircase. Harry could’ve been anywhere, but Louis knew to look in their bedroom and the drawing room. He would bet anything he was in one of the two rooms.

Harry was found in the drawing room, standing by the window and having a quiet conversation with Steve. Louis quickly crossed the room and embraced him from behind. 

“Oh!” Harry yelped, laughing. “Hello, darling.”

“Hi,” Louis sighed as he turned his cheek and pressed it against Harry’s back. “I missed you.”

“And I, you.” Harry turned in Louis’ grasp and slung an arm around Louis’ shoulders. “Aoki, Louis and I will be retiring upstairs shortly and aren’t to be disturbed unless an urgent matter arises.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Darling,” Harry said, smiling down at Louis. “Let us stop by the kitchen. We can talk food, request a spot of dinner for a little later. Maybe see if we can steal some snacks.”

They walked hand in hand, clutching to each other as they made their way down to the kitchen. They chatted to Anne for a little while, before heading up to their bedroom. There were vases of flowers on every possible surface and dozens of tiny daisies covering the bed. Louis turned to grin at Harry.

“What did you do? It’s beautiful.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Don’t lie. Oh, I believe you didn’t do it with your own hand, but you’re responsible for this.”

“How can you be so sure?” Harry asked with a concealed smirk.

Louis put his hands delicately on Harry’s waist and turned him towards the full length mirror. They grinned at each other in its reflection.

“You think I don’t recognise the face of my husband when he is lying to me?”

“There you go again.” Harry smiled. “Calling me your husband.”

“I like it better than boyfriend.”

“Hm.” Harry’s smile twisted into a smirk. “I’ve missed you.”

“You already said that,” Louis said quietly. “I missed you, too.”

Harry slipped his suit jacket off and dropped it into a heap on the floor. He loosened his tie and unfastened his top button.

“Your wardrobe master is going to hit the roof,” Louis said, nodding at the suit jacket, crumpled on the floor.

“Oh, he always does. He was not pleased that you ripped my trousers last month.”

“Did you tell him why?”

“No!” Harry laughed. “I can’t let it get back to the people in charge that I’ve been getting high and acting irresponsibly.”

“You’re King! You’re not allowed to cut loose?”

“Weed is illegal here, Louis. I already told you that. That’s why I keep my stash in the safe.”

“Hmm.” Louis untied Harry’s tie and discarded it before starting to unbutton his shirt. “We could get high together tonight.”

“Excuse me, you get too silly when you’re high. I would like you in your right mind tonight.”

Louis huffed. “A couple of drinks, then?”

“If you’re good.”

Louis pulled Harry’s shirt open and dropped to his knees. He kissed at Harry’s tummy. Silly moments like these were what Louis craved when they were apart. 

Harry unzipped his trousers and dropped them to the floor. Louis looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow.

“Do you only want me for one thing, sire?”

“I don’t only want you for blow jobs!” Harry said indignantly. “There’s hand jobs. Sex. Frottage. Rim jobs.”

Louis playfully slapped Harry on the thigh. “Don’t tell me all these flowers are so I’ll eat your arse.”

Harry smiled softly. “No. They’re just because I love you.”

“Hmm,” Louis hummed with a grin. He kissed the top of Harry’s thigh and as he turned his head to kiss the other thigh, his nose brushed past Harry’s cock and he inhaled sharply. 

“Alright. Up you get.”

Louis got to his feet and quickly shed all of his clothing. He sat on the end of the bed and watched as Harry tried to catch up, stripping as quickly as he could but tripping over his trousers and fumbling with his buttons. Louis giggled softly as Harry finally got all his clothes off and approached him.

“I missed you a lot,” Harry said, yet again. He bent down and picked up Louis’ ankles and placed them on his shoulders. He kissed Louis’ calf. “What do you want to do?”

“Well… we’re naked, and my legs are on your shoulder. So, I’m up for bowling. Or golf?”

“Shut up,” Harry said with a grin. He grabbed hold of Louis’ ankles and pushed his legs down. Louis’ knees hit his chest and Harry pressed down against him. “I… suffered without you. I cannot wait until you can come on visits with me.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Well, that ball is firmly in your court.”

Harry smirked. “Yeah. I know.”

Harry wrapped Louis’ legs around his waist and suddenly scooped him up in his arms. Louis yelped and clung onto Harry as best he could.

“Darling, you’re strong, but you’re very clumsy.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me?” Harry said. He shifted his hands to hold Louis better and Louis yelped, convinced he was going to fall. 

“I trust you in many ways, but I don’t trust you not to trip over your own feet and accidentally throw me across the room.”

Harry carefully, slowly lowered them both to the floor. He laid Louis down on the plush carpet.

“So, do we only have sex on the floor now?”

Harry shrugged. “I like it.”

“Yeah.” Louis sighed as Harry stood and made his way to the bedside table. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have a sore, red bum.”

“Yes, well.” Harry returned and lowered himself to his knees. “No one says you have to be on your back.”

“Okay, but…” Louis trailed off as Harry handed him a bottle of lube.

“Now…” Harry kissed him. “Why don’t you open me up, and then you can get your own back. I really want to feel you inside of me.”

Louis smiled and dropped the bottle onto the carpet next to him. They kissed, slow at first but Harry quickly deepened it and the next thing Louis knew, he had lowered Harry down onto his back and he was grinding down against him.

“Oh… Louis…” Harry panted as Louis moved his mouth to Harry’s neck. “I need you.”

“Patience, my darling.” Louis picked up the lube and quickly drizzled some onto his first two fingers. He used his thumb to smear it as he kissed down Harry’s body. “I will take care of you.”

Harry hummed tensely as Louis kissed his hip. Louis slid his slick fingers between Harry’s arse cheeks and pressed tentatively against his hole, just as he placed a wet kiss to the base of Harry’s hard cock.

Louis took Harry into his mouth. He had been acting nonchalant in regards to Harry constantly remarking that he had missed him, but Louis had missed Harry just as much. Maybe even more. He had missed his smile, missed his touch, and missed the heavy feeling of his straining, hot cock pressing down on his tongue.

Harry pushed his fingers into Louis’ hair and gripped tightly. It wasn’t painful enough to stop it being pleasurable, and Louis groaned as he took Harry in deeper.

“Lou,” Harry whined, adding a grunt as Louis’ finger breached his rim. “You’ll make me come.”

Louis couldn’t find it in himself to care too much. He knew from experience that Harry wouldn’t have a problem with going again and besides, he really wanted to bring Harry to orgasm with his mouth. Harry just loved receiving head and was always at his most vocal, which Louis loved.

_ “God.  _ I really- I really… I’m gonna come, Lou,” Harry whined again. “We should…”

Harry’s hands were still balled in Louis’ hair, keeping him fairly in place so Louis didn’t stop. He bobbed his head the best he could, speeding up as he felt Harry tense beneath him. Harry started to buck his hips and Louis pulled his fingers from between Harry’s cheeks and ran his hands over Harry’s ribs. He felt Harry begin to tremble before he started to come, crying out in a confused jumble of words as he spilled into Louis’ mouth. Louis slowed his movements, sucking him through his orgasm before coming to a stop when Harry released his hair and laid boneless on the carpet, panting.

“That wasn’t… supposed to come,” Harry murmured, his eyes slipping closed as Louis pulled off and sat back on his heels.

“I know,” Louis said with a quiet laugh. “How are you feeling?”

“Wonderful.”

Louis smiled and laid down next to him. “I am still going to fuck you.”

“I should hope so. Can I have a moment to catch my breath?”

“I didn’t mean this very minute,” Louis said with a laugh. “Would you like a drink?”

“Mm. Something sugary.”

Louis headed to their mini fridge and grabbed a can of Coke. He opened it and took a swig as he returned to Harry, who was now sitting back on his heels.

“Here.” Louis dropped to his knees in front of Harry and handed him the can. “Drink.”

Harry took a swig and grinned. “Thank you.”

“Do we have anything on for the rest of the day?”

“Nope.” Harry winked. “I wasn’t due back until tomorrow, was I? I told Steve he was to make sure my schedule remained blank as I would like to spend the evening with you.”

“Okay,” Louis said, watching as Harry took another swig. “Good.”

“Planning on lasting all night?” Harry asked with a smirk.

“I just want to be with you,” Louis replied. “Whether that’s being wrapped around you or inside you…”

Harry let out a grunt of laughter as he swigged from the can once again. Louis took it from him, placed it on the floor behind him and moved close to Harry. Harry parted his lips, glancing down at Louis’ mouth as Louis closed the space between them and pressed their lips together. Harry groaned quietly as they kissed eagerly, and Louis brought his hands up to cradle either side of Harry’s face as he started to press against him, trying to push him down onto the carpet but Harry pulled away. He turned his back to Louis, leaned forward on his forearms and stuck his bum in the air. 

“Oh,” Louis grunted. “Thank you.”

He leaned down to press a kiss to Harry’s bum cheek before grabbing the lube. He set to work opening up a very vocal Harry, trying his best to be as quick and efficient as he could. Louis was horny and strained, and he needed to get inside of Harry as soon as possible. Although he had not long come, Harry seemed just as desperate and as soon as Louis had worked up to three fingers, Harry was arching back and groaning impatiently.

“Do you want me to use a condom?” Louis asked, stroking quickly inside of Harry. “Less mess.”

“No,” Harry said, a little too loudly. “Quick and messy’s how I want it.”

“Fuck,” Louis scoffed quietly as he carefully pulled his fingers out of Harry. “Alright.”

“More lube. Get really wet.”

“Certainly, Your Majesty.”

“Shut up,” Harry growled.

Louis coated his cock in a generous amount of lube before starting to push into Harry. The tight heat was almost too much for Louis to bear but he continued to push in slowly, stilling as he bottomed out.

“Move,” Harry grunted.

“One sec, baby.” 

Louis dug his fingers into the flesh of Harry’s hips and started to pull out, shallowly thrusting back into Harry. Harry’s fingers curled into the carpet as he rocked back. Louis took the hint and quickly built up to a fast, steady rhythm, his palms starting to sweat as he moved in and out of Harry. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of Harry encompassing him, holding him. All he could hear was the sound of blood rushing in his ears. When it subsided, he could hear Harry moaning, but something about his tone seemed unusual.

“Harry,” he panted. “Are you okay?”

“So good.”

“Sure?”

“Uh… my arms.” Harry arched his back and pushed back against Louis. “Carry on.”

Louis carefully pulled out of Harry, who whined very loudly in protest. Louis pushed at Harry’s side and Harry easily rolled sideways onto the carpet. Louis lifted Harry’s arm and frowned at the redness all over the underside of his forearms. 

“Oh, baby. This looks sore.”

“Don’t care,” Harry growled through gritted teeth. 

“I do. We need to stop having sex on the floor, darling.”

Harry tried to release himself from Louis’ grip to get back on his knees but Louis wouldn’t let go.

“Let’s get on the bed.”

“No!”

Louis sighed. He could feel his hard on start to flag slightly. “On your back, then?”

“No.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Wanna ride me?”

Harry suddenly scrambled up onto his knees and pushed Louis flat onto the floor. Louis felt a rush and was no longer worried about his erection, feeling his cock twitch as Harry straddled his hips. Harry reached behind and held Louis’ cock steady as he sunk down on it.

_ “Fuck…” _ Harry groaned shakily. 

Louis’ arse was sore against the carpet but he didn’t care. His beautiful, wonderful Harry was sitting on his dick and nothing else mattered. Harry bit down on his bottom lip and started to rock his hips and Louis knew that he wasn’t going to last long in this position. Louis ran his hands up Harry’s thighs, over his hips and up to his ribs. Harry sped up, blindly chasing his orgasm now and Louis wrapped a hand around Harry’s cock and began to tug.

Louis wasn’t sure who started to come first but the next thing he knew he was soaring, on top of the world as he came inside of Harry and Harry repaid the favour by coating Louis’ hand in come. They were both sweaty and sticky and Louis couldn’t tell who was making what noise but the next thing he knew, Harry has collapsed on top of him.

“Well, you’re a good lay,” Harry told Louis. “I think I might like to do that forever.”

Louis scoffed, cocking an eyebrow at Harry as he rolled off of him with a grunt.

“And?”

“And… Shall I call downstairs and get them to bring up some cake?”

“Ugh. I’m leaving you.”

Harry giggled and climbed to his feet unsteadily and started to pull on some boxers. “Alright. I need a cigarette.”

“You… what?” Louis scrambled up and started to trot after Harry where he was headed to the balcony before realising he was naked. He tutted and found some tracksuit bottoms before quickly walking onto the balcony. “Since when do you smoke?!”

“Steve got me back into smoking while we were away. I’m sorry.”

“May I remind you of the grief you gave me when you once caught me smoking? And I was drunk!”

Harry huffed. “I know! But it is so hard being away from you. We were so busy all of the time and it was quite stressful.”

Louis sighed and pushed his fingers into Harry’s hair. It was messy and damp with sweat, a lot shorter than when they had met. Louis leaned in and pressed a kiss to Harry’s jaw.

“I know, darling. Can we try you out on an e-cigarette? How about that?”

“I suppose so.” Harry smiled apologetically. “I will give it a go. Can I finish this one?”

Louis couldn’t bring himself to say no. He had been a smoker before he had met Harry and he still remembered the craving of a post-sex cigarette, and the satisfaction of it. They called down for some cake afterwards, and cuddled for the rest of the night.

-

Harry was extra clingy in the morning. Louis sat at the breakfast table and Harry managed to wedge himself onto the corner of Louis’ chair between his legs. They ate breakfast that way, Harry leaning his weight back against Louis. Louis spilt his tea down his front three times and Harry’s shoulder was covered in toast crumbs.

“I should catch up on some paperwork today. Will you work with me? I should show you how some stuff works, I think.”

“Sure. But only if, at lunchtime, we can picnic out in the grounds. Somewhere secluded.”

“That’s a great idea! Down by the lake?”

“Perfect.”

Once in Harry’s office, Louis pulled up a chair and watched him sign countless papers. It was painfully boring, but Louis knew that Harry had to do it and besides, the least Louis could do was keep him company.

Louis was delighted, just before eleven o’clock, to hear a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Harry said as he squiggled at the bottom of a page. 

Steve entered, looking rather nervous.

“Good morning, sir.”

“What is it, Aoki?”

“I need a word, I’m afraid.”

Harry looked up curiously. “Business or personal?”

“Um…” Steve seemed unsure.

“Would you like me to leave?” Louis asked.

“Uh… no. I’ll save Harry the breath of repeating everything.”

Louis looked at Harry, whose eyebrows were raised. Harry gestured for Steve to sit in the chair on the other side of the desk.

“Is everything alright?”

“Before I say this, I would like to state I have thought this through. A lot. My mind cannot be changed.”

Harry was staring at Steve with an undecipherable hardness. “Go on.”

“I would like to offer my resignation. I thought it was best I told you before the engagement, but I will stick around until after it is all out of the way.”

Louis frowned at Harry and watched as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. He lit one quickly and inhaled. Louis flicked his eyes over to Steve, who looked away guiltily.

“Why, Steve?” Harry asked.

“I thought it was time I moved on. Lived a bit of my life outside the palace boundary. I’ve been with you a long time, but I think it would benefit you to be rid of me.” Steve paused as Harry scoffed. “You’re King, now. Not only that, but you will soon be married. You don’t need a minder hanging around, and you don’t need to have your best friend at your beck and call.”

“I still need a minder.”

“You don’t need a minder, you need a private secretary. And I am not one.”

Louis could see Harry’s hard facade cracking with every rebuff from Steve. His fist was clenched against his thigh, and Louis placed his hand gently on top of it.

“I’ll always be your best friend,” Steve said.

“I don’t have time to get to know a new person!” Harry said, a whine seeping into his voice. “This isn’t fair.”

“You need me far less than you think you do.” Steve smiled sadly. “You’re ready to be on your own. Well, without me.”

Harry tapped his fingers on his desk compulsively, dropping cigarette ash onto the rich mahogany.

“Um…” Louis cleared his throat. “You’ll still come and visit?”

“Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.”

Louis squeezed Harry’s hand. Harry started slightly, and laid his cigarette in the ashtray.

“Very well. Put it in writing and we will process it.”

“Thank you, sir.” Steve glanced at Louis, and then back to Harry. “One thing… what date should I put as my leaving date?”

Louis cocked an eyebrow and fixed his eyes on Harry, who was the picture of nonchalance.

“It should suffice to state that you will be leaving upon completion of your duties.”

“Alright. I’m not in a hurry.”

“Fair enough.” Harry picked up his pen and focused stubbornly on the paperwork in front of him. “Thank you, Steve.”

Louis saw Steve sigh discreetly before inclining his head and leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, Harry slammed his pen down and swiveled his chair to look at Louis.

“What am I supposed to do, now?”

“It’ll be okay, darling.”

Harry folded his arms with a huff. Harry had been made to become a fully fledged adult when his father had died and he had ascended to the throne, but now, Louis was seeing a glimpse of the stroppy, abrasive twenty-something that he had first met. It made him want to smile, if he was honest, but he didn’t think that would be appropriate.

“This is a nightmare.” Harry sighed.

“It’s just one of those things. You’re now fully on your own, you know.”

Harry sighed. “How am I supposed to cope without Steve? He knows everything.”

“You’ll cope, Harry. You’re the king, for God’s sake.”

Harry shook his head minutely and picked up his cigarette. “I need some air. Let’s take an early lunch.”

-

By the evening, Harry had settled into a melancholy mood. They were sitting in the drawing room, watching television with the lights dim. Harry hadn’t spoken in an hour, and when Louis glanced over at him his eyes were drifting closed. Louis reached out to take Harry’s glass of wine just in case he dropped it onto the sofa.

“Harry, darling. Are you tired?”

“Hm?” Harry jerked awake, blinking sleepily. “No.”

“Liar,” Louis responded softly. 

Harry sat up straight and rubbed his eyes. “It has been a hard day.”

“Yes. Why don’t you go to bed? Come on. I’ll come with you.”

Harry sighed, placing his elbow on his knee and resting his chin on his palm. 

“What do you think my father would have made of all of this? Hm?”

“All of what, love?”

“I dunno.” Harry turned his body towards Louis and rubbed his hands on his own thighs. “Us living together. Getting ready to get engaged, and coming out to the world. Steve leaving me.”

Louis shuffled closer and took one of Harry’s hands with a smile. “I bet he would be proud of you. You are a wonderful King, you always were going to be.”

Harry shrugged. “It isn’t as if he was exactly  _ approving  _ of us, though.”

“Well, he would have come around eventually, once he knew we were serious. And once he got over the no heirs thing.”

Harry pressed his lips together tightly and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Yes. I have to have a think about that one. It’s very tricky stuff.”

“There’s nothing we can do?”

“I don’t think so. Any heirs to the throne would have to be the biological product of our marriage.” Harry pouted. 

“That may be the law now but, if there is a gay King, surely the law can change?”

Harry finally smiled and closed his eyes, sighing inwardly. He opened his eyes and gazed at Louis warmly. “I shall have a discussion.” 

“Alright.” Louis moved in to kiss Harry on the cheek. “Let’s get an early night, my darling. I’m rather tired.”

“No, you aren’t.” Harry yawned. “Alright. To bed.”

Louis wrapped his arm around Harry’s waist and they made their way to bed. Harry started to hiccup as they ascended the stairs and Louis rubbed his back.

“I rather think I should delay our engagement,” Harry mused. “The longer I delay it, the longer I keep Steve around.”

“Do not push your luck,” Louis warned. “He may just go back on his promise to stay until it is sorted.”

Harry stopped in his tracks and turned towards Louis. “You do  _ not _ go back on a promise to the King of your country.”

Louis snorted. “Because Steve is very fearful of his King.”

“He could be, with a few well-positioned threats.”

Louis cackled. “Come on. You can’t intimidate Steve.”

“Maybe you’re right. But I also don’t think he would walk out on me.”

Louis nodded importantly. “No. Just as you won’t delay your engagement to string him along.”

As they arrived at their bedroom, Harry shoved Louis out of the way and entered. Louis tutted and followed him in, slamming the door behind him.

“You, Your Majesty, are a brat.”

“Piss off.”

“After the engagement hysteria has died down, can we go on holiday? I am desperate for some sun.”

Harry toed his heel out of his left shoe and kicked it across the room. He did the same with the right, grinning as Louis frowned in disapproval.

“That sounds wonderful. We may have to combine it with some kind of official visit, though.”

“Fine by me.” Louis wrestled out of his clothes and slipped on some shorts. He preferred to sleep naked, but they tended to wear at least something out of respect for the household staff who would come in in the mornings. “Come on. Get into bed.”

Harry undressed slowly, and Louis found himself mildly irritated. Harry had been falling asleep downstairs and now he was in absolutely no hurry to sleep whatsoever. Once he had stripped down to his boxers, Harry started to rummage through the bedside table and surely,  _ surely _ he wasn’t looking for lube. 

“Harry, will you  _ get into bed?” _

“Um…” Harry mumbled as he climbed into bed. “I shall be ready to sleep shortly, but there’s something we need to discuss very quickly.”

“Okay.” Louis sighed inwardly. “What is it?”

Harry pouted and opened his hand, revealing a little box that Louis had not noticed him clutching. Louis huffed out a surprised laugh.

“Louis, my darling. I hope you will forgive me for not getting down on one knee, but I’m afraid both are rather raw from fucking you on this carpet.”

Louis let out another laugh, trying to blink back his tears. “Actually, that particular time was  _ me _ fucking  _ you.” _

“Shut up,” Harry whispered, grinning as he held out his hand. “Give me your hand.”

Louis placed his hand in Harry’s. He felt emotional, far more than he expected to. He knew this was coming, it wasn’t a surprise at all. He was still overwhelmed by it.

Harry had chosen, out of every situation and every place he could have proposed, to ask Louis to marry him in bed. 

“Louis Tomlinson.” Harry teased the ring at the tip of Louis’ finger. It looked to be platinum, diamonds ringing the band. Of course, Louis would’ve been happy with a plastic ring from a Kinder egg. “Would you do me the  _ utmost honour _ of becoming my husband?”

Louis had the wild urge to play with Harry, to play coy and unsure, but he didn’t have it in him. He had been waiting for this moment for a long while, and so many things were hanging in the balance as he tried to find the words to reply.

Harry was blinking at him. He was alert, confidence and expectation in his expression and Louis could not help but cock a smile.

“It would be an incredible privilege to marry you, my love.” 

Harry’s face broke into a stupid, wide grin. “So…”

“So…  _ yes.” _

Harry giggled softly as he pushed the ring onto Louis’ finger and pulled him into a hug. He sniffed loudly into Louis’ ear.

“Are you crying?” Louis whispered, amused.

“No.” Harry pulled away and quickly wiped his eyes. “Hay fever.”

“Oh, stop it!” Louis laughed, wiping his own eyes, too. “How am I expected to go to sleep, now?”

“I know. Sorry. Let’s have champagne!”

“Well, aren’t you tired?”

“We have just become engaged, Louis.”

Harry had someone bring up an ice cold bottle of impossibly expensive champagne and the two of them drank the entire thing in less than an hour. Afterwards, Harry took Louis’ hand and led him out of their room. They walked through the palace, the king in just his boxers and Louis in his shorts, and Harry told everybody they encountered that they were engaged. Louis clung to Harry’s hand, dizzy with alcohol and love, and he giggled as they ran through the great hall and the drawing room and the post room with Harry shouting loudly about their engagement. Harry fell asleep as soon as they got back to the bedroom. 

Louis never would have imagined that, with their  _ very _ healthy sex life, they would fall asleep on the night of their engagement without having sex. He didn’t mind. In fact, what had started out as a fairly bad day had turned into something perfect. Louis smiled as he cuddled up to Harry, who was snoring away, every breath smelling of alcohol. 

-

Louis was sitting in a chair, adjusting his suit jacket. Being a new and modern palace, every room was fitted with air conditioning and the throne room was so cold that Louis was afraid his nipples would show through his crisp, white shirt.

“Is all this necessary?” Louis whispered as Harry returned to his side. “I’m starting to feel restless.”

“We need engagement photos to go along with the announcement.” Harry sat in the chair next to him. “I just thought you would like to try different settings. Traditional, modern, quirky. Just… see which one you prefer.”

“Hm. Well, I would have preferred a bedroom selfie.”

“Stop it,” Harry laughed. “You know I have to do this sort of thing. It won’t be too much longer, I promise.”

“So, what did your photographer say?”

“Hm, well. My press officer wanted us to take a photo of me sitting on my throne, with you standing beside me. I put my foot down. I refuse any photo that doesn’t put us on the same level.”

“But we  _ aren’t  _ on the same level. Everybody knows that.”

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. “Yes, but I don’t want people to infer through these photos that I don’t see you as my equal in this relationship.”

Louis smirked. “Alright, fine.”

They posed for photos for another hour. Candid, casual, stiff… They covered all bases. When they were finished, Louis was just happy to change into a tracksuit afterwards and take Honeycomb out, he and his fiance alone finally.

“I cannot believe that tomorrow will be my last day at work.”

Harry squeezed his arm in comfort. “I hope it’s not too sad. Was your manager annoyed when you gave only a week’s notice?”

“A little bit. But I swore to him that it was an exceptional situation.” Louis smirked. “And that they would all find out soon.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “That’s true.”

Louis stopped walking. “I’m a touch nervous, I must admit.”

Harry blinked at him before shrugging slightly. “You are about to lose your anonymity forever.” He smiled. “We can put off the announcement, if you would like.”

“No, no. We might as well get it out of the way. I can’t put it off forever.”

“Listen to us,” Harry said, laughing as he slipped his hand into Louis’ and they resumed their walk. “Anyone would think we weren’t in love.”

“It’s a huge moment,” Louis replied with a sigh.

“Have you prepared your mother? They won’t leave her alone for a good while. The British press in particular are venomous, you know.”

“Oh, I know.” Louis rolled his eyes. “She will be alright. There are places she can go to if it gets too much.”

“Your siblings?”

“It’s in hand.”

Harry nodded. “What about the tenants of your house?”

Louis paused for a moment before letting out a brief laugh. “Well, I obviously haven’t pre-warned them. I’ll give them a call as soon as the announcement goes out.”

“They’re in for a shock.”

“I’ll say!”

They fell silent and walked that way until they had done a circuit of the palace. Towards the end of the walk, Honeycomb jumped into the duck pond and emerged covered head to toe in mud.

“You can clean him,” Harry told Louis.

“Excuse me?” Louis replied with a laugh. “He’s your dog, so fetch the hose.”

“This is why I have staff.”

“Do you have a dog hoser?”

“Yes,” Harry said with a nod. “Steve.”

-

Louis clutched his cup of tea and, from inside, he watched Steve hosing Honeycomb down. He and Harry had flipped a coin to see who would help Steve, and Louis had won.

He snapped a photo as Honeycomb shook himself off and covered Harry in mud. When Harry saw Louis laughing, he stopped what he was doing and headed inside.

“What are you doing?” Louis exclaimed. “You’ll get mud everywhere!”

“I have come to give you a cuddle.”

“No!” Louis gasped and backed away. “Stay away from me!”

He tried to run but Harry caught him easily, cuddling him close and covering him in watery mud. He squealed as Harry kept him in his grip.

“Get off me,” he said without much conviction. “You are so childish.”

“Hush.” Harry loosened his grip and kissed Louis’ nose. “I like it when you’re all… dirty.”

“Stop it,” Louis said with a breathless laugh. Your games won’t work with me, Mister.”

“Actually…” Harry pulled away and cocked an eyebrow. “It’s ‘Your Majesty’.”

Louis looked Harry up and down. “There is nothing majestic about this.”

They bickered as they made their way to their bedroom and into the ensuite to clean up. Louis was unsoiled aside from his clothes, but Harry absolutely insisted they both showered. Together. Louis was sure Harry had intention, but they ended up spending the entire shower talking about the announcement.

“What will be our first official outing?” Louis asked as they climbed out of the shower and started to towel off. “I will just be so nervous.”

“Ah, well. We shall discuss it with my press officer, but I think a charity visit might be best. No parties or anything self indulgent, you know?”

Louis nodded thoughtfully. “Yes. This is probably the wrong thing to think about, but I’m wondering about what I would be wearing.”

Harry paused as he was drying his left thigh and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh. You’ve got your head in your fashion. I should’ve known it would’ve been all about how you looked.”

“Oi!” Louis cried indignantly. “You can’t get enough of it. Anyway, you’re one to talk.”

“Mm, I don’t know,” Harry said casually as he draped his towel around his own neck. “I think you are more vain than me.”

Harry punctuated with a shrug and turned his back to Louis in order to look in the mirror.

“Is that so?” Louis asked to the back of Harry’s head. He threw his towel down and wrapped his arms around Harry’s chest. He pulled him back and Harry fought by pushing forward. “I’ll throw you to the ground you know. You don’t want to fight me.”

“Aw, you keep trying.”

They struggled, Louis trying unsuccessfully to knock Harry’s legs from under him but the king was far too strong. Louis ended up hoisting himself up and wrapping his legs around Harry’s waist.

“Now what are you trying to do, darling?”

“I’ll get you on the floor, I promise you.”

“Oh, well, that would be absolutely lovely, but your willy is poking me. And not in a good way.”

Louis slapped his palm onto Harry’s chest. “Don’t turn everything sexual. I am trying to fight you.”

“Try harder,” Harry said with a giggle before turning his head. “You shouldn’t worry about our first appearance, you know. You will look wonderful, and everybody will want to get to know you better.”

Louis tightened the grip of his thighs around Harry’s waist. “I’ll be an enigma. I shall just be that gorgeous, mysterious man who is marrying the king. People will debate over which one of us is the lucky one.”

“It’s you, obviously.” Harry tilted his head down to kiss Louis’ wrist. “No. I’m extremely lucky. I know I am.”

Louis hummed, pleased. He released his grip and slid off of Harry’s body, grabbing his towel to finish drying himself.

“Um… you know, I feel like there’s a bit of an elephant in the room.”

“What?” Harry turned and walked out into the bedroom. “I don’t know what you mean. It can’t be an elephant in the room if I don’t know what you are referring to.”

Louis sighed, trailing after him and throwing himself down on the bed. It was meticulously made and even after all this time, Louis couldn’t help but let out a sigh at the soft, plush feel of the always fresh duvet and egyptian cotton linen. Sometimes, he really didn’t feel like he deserved it.

“We really need to have a discussion with various people about my past.”

Harry blinked at him. “It’s none of their business.”

“Don’t be naive, Harry. They need to know. It’s going to come out at some point, surely you know that? If they’re aware in advance, we can all talk about what we can do when it happens. If we’re prepared, the impact can be minimised.”

Harry was chewing on his bottom lip anxiously. Louis thought he looked rather young when he did it, and his heart ached.

“I don’t want to tell them. What if they say we can’t get married?”

“They won’t,” Louis said in surprise. “If they do, you argue back. You would fight for me, wouldn’t you?”

Harry sighed, body slumping. He threw himself down on the bed and wriggled closer to Louis. 

“Of course I would. It’s just a bit… awkward. And embarrassing.”

Louis sat up abruptly and glared down at him. “Embarrassing?”

“No, no. That’s not what I mean.” Harry grabbed him and pulled him back to the bed. “They will all look at me as if I paid for sex.”

“You  _ did _ pay for sex.”

“No I didn’t!” Harry whined.

Louis smiled softly. “Look. It doesn’t matter. Who cares if they judge you? Anyway, I didn’t judge you. I didn’t think you were a pervert, or whatever you are worried about them thinking. I saw you as a young, closeted man who had absolutely zero opportunity to meet people.”

Harry licked his lips and stared off into space, looking troubled. “I suppose you’re right.”

“I know you don’t want to tell them, Harry. I don’t either, not really. But I think it is important that they know what they’re dealing with. Telling your press office might mean the whole world doesn’t find out. Think of it that way.”

Harry nodded with a smile. “Yes. You’re right. Absolutely. I’ll get Steve to set up a meeting.”

They dressed for dinner and, although the issue of his past hadn’t necessarily been weighing on Louis, he felt lighter for having spoken about it. This whole thing was probably quite stressful for poor Harry. Announcing his engagement and coming out at the same time. On top of that, Louis knew it bothered Harry that his father would not approve of his coming out.

His father would not have approved of him marrying a man, either. 

“I’m not sure I fancy creme brulee,” Harry told one of his chefs while they were chatting. “I’m in the mood for some kind of chocolatey, spongy cake.”

“Like a chocolate sponge cake for instance, Sir?” 

“Mm, mm, yes.” Harry pouted, nodding. He turned to Louis. “What do you fancy, my love?”

“Oh, I’m not fussed.”

The chef returned to the kitchen and Harry rested his chin on his palm, his elbow on the table. 

“I think I want to increase my social media presence. Personally.”

“Oh?” Louis raised his eyebrows. “What makes you say that?”

“I think it’s a good idea to become a bit more relatable to the people. Also, if our coming out is going to change attitudes for the better, I think being distant and aloof isn’t a good tactic. If it’s okay with you, we can share very small snippets of our lives. Give an illusion of letting people in somewhat, show them that love is love. At the end of the day, when it comes to matters of the heart, we’re not so different from them.”

Louis grinned and nodded. “I think it is a wonderful idea.”

-

_ HIS MAJESTY THE KING AND MR. LOUIS TOMLINSON ARE ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED _

_ His Majesty The King is delighted to announce his engagement to Mr. Louis Tomlinson.  _

_ A date for the ceremony is yet to be announced. Further details will be announced in due course. _

_ His Majesty The King and Mr. Tomlinson became engaged earlier this month at Smythe Palace. The Royal Household and those close to His Majesty The King are delighted and look forward to Mr. Tomlinson joining the Royal Family. His Majesty The King enjoys a close relationship with Mr. Tomlinson’s family and sought and received their permission in advance of the engagement. _

_ His Majesty The King and Mr. Tomlinson met in 2018 at a function and soon later entered into a relationship. His Majesty’s late father, King Edward, was aware of the relationship. _

Harry sighed.

“It is  _ so _ obvious that he didn’t approve.”

“I wouldn’t worry, Sir,” the palace’s press secretary said. “Times are changing. You’re popular enough for people to be firmly on your side. They will think of the late King as old fashioned.”

“Okay. Ooh,” Harry said as he clutched his stomach. “I am riddled with nerves.”

Louis glanced at the clock. Three minutes past twelve midday. He pressed the home button on his phone and his stomach flipped as he saw that he already had over thirty text messages. He let the screen fall dark again.

“I should call my tenants. People will find my house in a matter of minutes.”

“I think it’s a good idea.”

Louis stepped out into the corridor. They were in a rather secluded part of the palace to ease Harry’s stress as the press release went out. Elsewhere, members of the Royal Household were likely run off their feet, dealing with the aftermath of the announcement. Louis pressed  _ call. _

Nobody was home, and so he tried a mobile. There was no answer, and he reckoned he should probably leave a message.

“Hello, this is Louis Tomlinson. I am unsure if you have checked the news, but I’d advise you to do so if you haven’t. I’d like to reassure you that myself and the King will do anything we can to make this easier for you. If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to call. I have a feeling you may encounter some press outside of your home but you do not have to say anything to them. I’ll be over to visit you to have a proper chat when I can. Take care and again, please don’t hesitate to let me know if you encounter any problems. Bye.”

Louis hung up and rolled his eyes. He had rambled. But honestly, he didn’t even know what to say. He walked back into the room and Harry raised his eyebrows.

“How did it go? Did they take it well?”

“It went to voicemail. I left a message. I thought that was better than trying to find time to call them back later and being too late.”

“I have to admit, I’m concerned about it,” Harry replied with a frown. “Shall I have the British police contacted? I think the house needs a police presence of some sort.”

“Hm. Yeah, okay. It can’t hurt.”

The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion. Louis finally read his texts, which were mostly from old friends back home or his ex-colleagues at the hotel. His mother was housebound due to her doorstep being swarmed with paparazzi and his siblings were being questioned at school constantly. At least Harry’s mother was safe and at peace.

“Everything will settle eventually,” Anne said as she made Harry and Louis a cup of tea each. “This is unprecedented. And I’m very proud of you both, by the way.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Harry said. “I always think about the royals of the past. There must have been some queer members, either here or in Britain, at least. They would have had no choice but to remain closeted for their entire life. I like to think I’m doing it for them.”

Louis shuffled his chair closer and kissed Harry on the shoulder. They had stopped by Anne’s apartment to take a short break from the craziness of the day. Now that she was a resident of the palace, living in staff quarters, Harry could visit her whenever he liked. He didn’t do it often, mostly because she shared the apartment with three other members of staff.

All three of them heard a key in the door at the same time and Anne looked at Harry in alarm.

“Calm down,” he said with a smirk. “I  _ do _ own the place, you know.”

Anne’s flatmate was humming a tune under her breath as she walked into the kitchen and threw her keys onto the worktop. She stopped as she noticed people sitting at the table, and turned towards them with a veil of politeness covering her expression. Her eyes widened as soon as she laid eyes on Harry.

“Your Majesty!” She hastily performed a sloppy curtsy. “Forgive me.”

“Hello,” Harry said warmly. “Please relax. I am, after all, invading your home.”

She looked lost for words before her eyes flickered to Louis’. “Congratulations on your engagement, Sir. And… Mr. Tomlinson.”

“Thank you.” Harry stood to his feet and shook her hand. “We were just round having a cup of tea with Anne. She has rather charmed me since she started working in my kitchen. I bet she didn’t tell you she’s mates with the boss. What is your name? What do you do for me?”

The woman relaxed enough to tell Harry that she worked in administration and her name was Kathy Benson. Harry listened intently as she spoke. He listened to everybody with the same intensity and Louis couldn’t help but smile to himself.

“Kathy is from England,” Anne said.

“Oh?” Harry replied. “Did you know my wonderful fiance here is from England?”

“Yes, Sir,” Kathy said. “Yorkshire?”

“Yeah!” Louis grinned. “You?”

“Northampton. My family is still there. I visit at the weekend.”

Whenever Harry came to visit Anne in her home, it tended to be on a Sunday. Harry rarely went to church, but Anne said her flatmates did, and so he sometimes took the opportunity.

“Sir, I must apologise for the cleanliness of the kitchen,” Kathy said.

“What on earth’s wrong with it?” Harry asked, looking around. Kathy looked mortified. “The only thing I can see is that it could do with a bit of a refurb. I shall make a note on that. Is there anything else that needs doing?”

“Oh, no, dar-” Anne cut herself off. “No, Sir.”

Harry frowned. “These apartments are rather small.”

“We are more than happy, Your Majesty,” Kathy said earnestly. 

“Glad to hear it.” Harry downed the rest of the tea before looking at Louis. “We should be off. The gay world is not going to save itself.”

Anne tutted fondly, and Kathy didn’t seem to notice. They said their goodbyes and started to make their way back to Harry’s office.

“That was funny,” Louis said. “Kathy’s face. She was mortified.”

“Think how mortified she would be if she found out she had been living with my mother?!”

-

Three days after the announcement, Harry and his betrothed were getting ready to attend a charity dinner. Harry had arranged the dinner solely to have an event at which to make their first official appearance together, but if the charity benefitted too, then everybody won.

“I’m not sure about this suit.”

Harry turned to look at Louis in frustration. “Are you serious? You spent hours picking it out yesterday and you were  _ adamant  _ it was the one. What’s wrong with it? Look how incredible it looks on you!”

“Hm, I know.”

“It was altered by the very best tailors on this great island, so you  _ are _ going to wear it.”

“Oh, well. If you are going to make demands, Sir, I’ll definitely not be wearing it.”

Harry frowned, seemingly unimpressed. It was a common back and forth with them. Harry spent most of his day at work telling people what to do, and sometimes that spilt over into his relationship with Louis. Louis absolutely would not stand for it. 

“Darling, I’m sorry,” Harry said soothingly. “I would love it if you wore this. I assure you, it looks wonderful.”

“Hm. Well, how does my bum look?”

“I mean, you could wear a bin bag and that thing would look perfect.” Harry giggled quietly to himself. “Honestly, Louis. It really looks amazing.”

“Hm. Okay. I’ll wear it, but not because you demanded it.”

Once they were in the car, Louis started to feel nervous. He and Harry hadn’t spoken about it, but Louis knew there would be an increased police presence, just in case anybody took exception to the King’s announcement. Harry was a popular monarch, but this kind of revelation was likely to get under people’s skin. 

The charity dinner was being held at a hotel - Louis was grateful it wasn’t at  _ his  _ hotel - and Louis could tell they weren’t far away. He didn’t think he would feel quite this nervous, and it was daunting. Louis felt Harry’s eyes on him as he stared out of the window, wringing his hands.

“It’s going to be okay, Lou.” Harry reached over and took Louis’ sweaty palm into his. “We’re in this together.”

Louis looked down at their hands. “Are we going to hold hands when we get out?”

“No.” Harry frowned. “We’ll build up to that. But we’ll engage in a bit of easy physical contact. A brush of the arm, a guiding hand on the back.”

“Okay. Alright.”

They pulled up and even through the windows, Louis could hear the sound of the crowd. He refused to look out, even as he anxiously wondered exactly how many people were out there. He tried to stop his knees from trembling as he climbed out of the car. The sound of the crowd was deafening and he finally looked up. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how many people were in the crowd and for the first time since starting a relationship with Harry, he wanted to turn around and run away.

And then he felt the reassuring pressure of Harry’s hand against the small of his back. 

“Just smile, my love. Smile and wave.”

Louis did as instructed. The roar in his ears was muffled and he thought he could hear some people shouting but he couldn’t begin to hope to make out the words. He focused on Steve, who was in front of him, and he followed his footsteps as they headed inside. Harry’s hand moved from the small of Louis’ back to his waist.

As soon as they stepped inside the hotel, Louis stopped to take a breath. 

“That is the hardest part out of the way, baby,” Harry told him quietly. “Well done.”

“Thank you.”

“You ready to meet some people? This will be easier, I promise.”

It was. Harry introduced Louis to countless members of staff from the charity - Harry very impressively knew almost every single name - and everybody was very warm and receiving to the man who was marrying their King. It must have been a massive shock to some. 

“Right,” Harry said as their starters were placed in front of them. “How about a photo? I can post it to my Instagram.”

“You don’t have an Instagram.”

“Well, I’ll start one!” Harry giggled quietly as he leaned over to get Steve’s attention. “The palace’s social media manager thinks it’s a lovely idea for us to share brief snippets of our lives together, but I have to send the stuff to her first for approval.”

“That’s a relief. God knows what you’d post in the heat of the moment.”

“Shh!” Harry said with yet another giggle. “Steve! Steve. Take a photo of us, please. Take a few.”

Harry and Louis posed for a few snaps. It was a strange feeling for Louis, being so publicly on Harry’s arm like this. They were open around the palace, but usually when Harry attended an event like this, Louis was left at home. He felt like everybody was watching them, but he supposed he would have to get used to that feeling.

“Now. It will be a huge deal to the media to snap a photo of the two of us kissing. They will kill one another, and climb over the body to get it.”

“Creeps.”

“I know. But we shan’t give it to them. In fact, maybe we will post the first picture of a kiss on mine or the palace’s social media.”

“Well, I’m not sure they’ll allow you to do that.”

“They might,” Harry retorted. “Anyway, all I’m saying is to be mindful of every movement you make. You might think I am stating the obvious, but the media is very good at manipulating and taking things out of context.”

“Alright. Noted.”

“And that means absolutely behaving yourself at all times.”

Louis scoffed, trying to keep his face pleasantly neutral. “Are you really going to lecture me on conduct? Need I remind you what happened in the throne room?”

Harry cleared his throat and self-consciously glanced around. “No, no.”

Louis managed to relax somewhat over the course of the evening and by the time they left, waving to the crowd once more, he felt a sense of relief.

“Okay,” Louis said as he buckled his seatbelt. “That was fine.”

Harry sighed loudly and dropped his hand to Louis’ thigh. “God, it feels good to touch you.”

“Do you think people are talking about us online?” Louis asked.

“Don’t look!” Harry warned. “That stuff will eat you from the inside out.”

Louis didn’t really have the desire to look. He was tired. The stress of worrying all day had zapped his energy, and all he wanted to do was go to bed.

He tipped his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. He and Harry had their first meeting with their wedding planner tomorrow, and Louis had a lot of ideas to bring to the table. There would probably be some disagreements between the two of them but then again, Louis might not have much of a say. There were a lot of royal traditions that Harry would be expected to uphold.

Then again, it wasn’t as if he had any family to insist upon it.

-

Louis’ day wasn’t going to plan.

First of all, he accidentally stumbled across an article about himself and Harry (and he couldn’t not click it, surely?) which was mortifying. Then, he laughed at the wedding planner who mentioned that royal tradition dictates the groom wear military uniform at their wedding. After the meeting, he and Harry got into an argument over the cake.

“I’d just like to keep with tradition,” Harry said.

“Harry, fruit cake is gross. Nobody likes fruit cake. As far as I am concerned, at _ my  _ wedding I would like to serve cake that people actually want to eat.”

“Fruit cake is fine.”

“It’s not! People will leave saying, ‘beautiful ceremony, shame about the cake’.”

Harry just scoffed. “Well, why don’t we seek a second opinion? Did I tell you we have an audience with the Queen next week?”

Louis froze and raised his eyebrows. “You most certainly did not.”

“Yeah,” Harry said breezily and shrugged. “She needs to meet you, doesn’t she?  _ She’ll  _ advise us on whether we need to keep tradition or not.”

Louis was nervous all over again. When he first met Harry, it had been kind of a big deal. As he had grown up, he had watched Harry grow up, too. A rigid and dignified boy had turned into a tragic rebel and, once out of his teens, had shifted into the quiet, kind man he was today. The thing was, Harry hadn’t been  _ his _ Prince. He had been the Prince of another land. The fact that Louis would now be meeting the Queen -  _ his _ Queen - and quite possibly share some kind of relationship with her was overwhelming.

When they finally stopped arguing, they had a meeting with someone from the press office. The couple were obligated to do a short engagement interview and the questions (and answers) needed to be discussed and agreed. It was excruciating. Louis wasn’t overly keen on talking about their private life but he gritted his teeth. He knew he would do what he had to do.

“So, let’s discuss your meeting. How  _ did _ the two of you actually meet?” the press officer asked.

Louis glanced at Harry. “We, um, met at-”

“I employed Louis to be my date,” Harry said with a bored sigh. “He was my escort. There was times I paid for sex, but-”

“Harry!” Louis scolded.

“What? They need to know. Just in case it comes out. That’s what you said, isn’t it?” Harry shrugged and turned back to the press officer. “But I suppose you can say we met at a charity event? The engagement announcement said that, if I remember correctly.”

“I agree,” the press officer said, seeming somewhat unfazed.

-

Harry went off to take care of some household business and Louis flopped onto the bed, face first. Wedding planning was exhausting, even with all the help and money in the world. Louis sighed, rolling onto his back and pulling his phone from his pocket to check his messages.

There was a knock at the door and Louis glanced at the clock. Who could be knocking at this time? Especially considering Harry wasn’t here.

“Yes?” Louis called.

The door swung open and bashed against the small table behind it. Louis looked up in surprise, only to see Harry standing in the doorway, wearing a well-fitted black suit.

“Hello.”

Louis narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Hi.”

“You must be Thomas.”

Something zipped through Louis, whether it was excitement or anxiety, he wasn’t sure. Thomas was the name he used when he first met Harry, when he was an escort. Harry wore a coy expression, but his eyes twinkled and danced. He was role playing. He was fucking role playing. 

Louis took a deep breath and veiled himself behind a persona he hadn’t visited in a long while. He put his phone on the nightstand and slowly, sensually climbed to his feet and approached Harry, swaying his hips.

“Well, why don’t you come in, baby? What’s your name?”

“Um… Kevin.”

Louis raised his eyebrows. “Kevin. Make yourself comfortable, gorgeous.”

Harry tentatively stepped into the room and slipped his suit jacket off. He carefully placed it on a chair and turned to Louis.

“I’ve never done this before,” he told Louis.

“Is that so?” Louis approached Harry once again and placed his hands on his shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after you.”

Louis slid his hands down Harry’s arms and laced their fingers together. Harry licked his lips and looked down at their clasped hands.

“What do you want, Kevin?”

Harry cleared his throat. “You.”

“I’m going to need you to be a little more specific, darling.”

“Um, can you fuck me?”

Louis moved even closer to Harry until their mouths were an inch apart. He unclasped their hands and ran his fingertips over Harry’s belt buckle.

“That sounds doable.”

“You sound doable.”

Louis had to bite his tongue in order not to tease Harry about such a horrible line. Instead, he chuckled quietly as he worked on unbuckling Harry’s belt. 

“Why don’t we get the formalities out of the way, hm?”

“Huh?” Harry grunted. “Oh. Oh, of course.”

Harry pulled out a shocking wad of notes, held together with a clip. He placed the wad into Louis’ hand.

“I think this will cover all bases.”

Louis flicked through the notes, pretending to count it. Harry’s face sternly glared up at him from the back of the notes, and Louis made a point of looking at Harry’s current unsure expression. 

“Okay,” Louis said, unceremoniously tossing the money onto the floor. “That should do.”

“Can you be gentle with me?” Harry whispered. “I’m very nervous.”

“Of course.”

Louis undid Harry’s trousers and pushed them down until they pooled around his ankles. Louis took a step back to look at him. His feet and knees were turned inwards and his eyes were wide and anxious. Louis wondered how his confident, self-assured husband-to-be could play so well at being shy. It kind of made him love him even more.

Louis stepped back to him and started to undo Harry’s tie.

“You’re looking very smart tonight, Kevin.”

“I went on a date, but it was a disaster.”

“Aw, it was?” Louis tilted his head and pouted prettily. He pulled the tie undone. “You must be disappointed.”

“A bit.” Harry looked down as Louis quickly unbuttoned his shirt. “I think you’re going to make me feel better.”

Louis laughed softly. “I hope so, baby.”

He pushed Harry’s shirt off his shoulders and watched it drop to the ground next to his trousers. He took Harry’s hand and led him to the bed.

“Why don’t you lay on the bed and relax?” Louis cooed. “Just let me take care of you.”

Harry did as he was told. He laid back, head on the pillows and eyes firmly on Louis. Louis approached, climbing on the bed and crawling on top of him.

“Any special requests, Kevin?”

“When you fuck me, can you do it hard?”

Louis nearly choked on air, but he composed himself. “No problem, gorgeous. But what about being gentle with you?”

Louis thought he saw a flicker of a smirk on Harry’s lips. “Emotionally gentle.”

“Ah. Okay.”

Louis shuffled down the bed and kissed Harry’s semi through his boxers before pulling them off. He opened him up carefully, pointedly avoiding his prostate, which he had the knowledge and experience to do expertly. Harry whined, both in pleasure and desperation. 

“Kevin, can you take a third finger, darling?”

“No, no, just fuck me, Lou- uh, Thomas.”

Louis giggled quietly as he crooked his fingers to give Harry’s prostate a brief, teasing stroke before pulling his fingers out. Harry slammed his fists down onto the bed, which nearly made Louis laugh again, but he stifled it and reached for a condom.

“How do you want it, Kevin?” Louis asked Harry as he rolled the condom down his own cock.

“Um, can I be on top?”

“You wanna top?” Louis said and paused, hand wrapped around his cock and he stared at Harry’s prepped, open, enticing hole. 

“No, oh, I meant, um…”

“Ah. You want to ride my cock?”

If Harry hadn’t been born with a ready-made job waiting for him, he would have made a fine actor. He let out a small whimper and managed to blush.

“Yes, please.”

Louis batted his eyelashes and smiled as he lubed his cock up and laid on his back. Harry cleared his throat and straddled Louis’ hips.

“You gonna be able to take it, huh?” Louis cooed. “My cock?”

“I- I think so.” 

Harry reached behind himself and grabbed hold of Louis’ cock. He slapped it against his rim a couple of times - making Louis gargle out a moan - before pressing the head against it and pushing down on it. 

“Oh, fuck,” Louis groaned. “You feel amazing, Kevin.”

Harry just grunted, his eyes closed and his lips parted as he slowly sunk down. Harry’s body was pulling Louis in and it felt so indecent and delicious that Louis had to close his eyes and revel in it. Harry kept going until he was sat flush against Louis’ hips and Louis opened his eyes. Harry was still, eyes closed. He licked his hips and rocked ever so slightly, and Louis grabbed hold of Harry’s hips as a means of grounding himself. Something about this felt so fresh and new, and he hadn’t been expecting that.

“Oh, Thomas,” Harry whined. “You feel so good. Filling me up so nicely.”

Louis stared at Harry’s cock, standing away from his body and bobbing slightly as Harry started to move his hips so slightly that Louis wanted to scream.

“God, you’re so tight…. uh….” Louis furrowed his brow. “Kevin.”

Harry opened his eyes and gazed down at Louis. He ran his fingers through his hair before placing his palms on Louis’ chest and starting to move with more gusto than before. Louis recognised him, now. Harry was focused only on himself, grinding his arse down in a way that Louis knew was deeply satisfying to him. It wasn’t exactly boring for Louis, though. Aside from the hot, tight feeling of Harry encompassing him, the rapture on Harry’s face and the noises he was making was enough for Louis. 

“Ah, fuck,” Harry moaned as he switched position, leaning back and placing his palms either side of Louis’ legs. He grunted as he sped up, clearly having found the right angle for himself. Louis grabbed hold of Harry’s cock and started to tug on it. “Yes, yes! Fuck, uh, Thomas.”

Louis couldn’t help but grin. They were both always vocal in bed, delighting in using each other’s names liberally. Harry’s little roleplay game was slipping as they reach that point of euphoria, when they became one in the moment. It was cheesy, but it was the only way Louis could describe it. They moved in perfect rhythm together, Harry slamming down on Louis’ cock and Louis tugging at Harry’s. Harry came first, moaning loud and indecent as he spilled over Louis’ fist. The way his muscles clenched and fluttered around Louis’ cock brought him to the edge, and he came mere seconds after Harry. 

They stilled, and Harry panted loudly as he winced and moved to pull off of Louis. He leaned down to kiss him, smearing his own cooling come between their bodies.

“Well,” Harry said. “That was certainly worth the money.”

Louis laughed. “I hope this means you will be a repeat customer.”

Harry chuckled and stood to his feet. He walked towards the bathroom and looked at Louis over his shoulder.

“I’ll definitely be back for more,  _ Thomas.” _

“That’s very good to hear, Kevin.”

Harry smirked at him before slamming the bathroom door shut.

-

They were stuck in yet another meeting about the wedding, and Harry was restless. He ended up with his feet on the table and his body awkwardly draped across Louis, who was scratching at Harry’s scalp.

“Harry, do you think you could sit up straight?” Steve asked, exasperation dripping from his tone. “Do you think you could be professional?”

Harry bolted upright and leaned into the table, clasping his hands in front of him.

“Steven, I just want to get married. I don’t need meeting after meeting about the logistics of things.”

“Sir, you are the king. You know you do.”

Harry scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Do I really need to be present?”

Steve sighed and glanced at Louis, before looking back at Harry. “No. But for every meeting you attend, there are three more that you don’t.”

“Darling,” Louis whispered in his ear. “Can we just get through this? Can you please behave?”

Harry sighed and glared at Louis. “Fine.”

The enormity of their wedding was a sore point for Harry, but he recognised that it was necessary, considering his status. Louis reckoned that, if Harry had his way, they would get married with only Louis’ family and Harry’s mother present, in a garden somewhere. But they couldn’t. There was no room for question.

“You two are meeting with the Queen tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes,” Louis replied, not confident that Harry would respond. “There are a few details we would like her advice on, so somebody from the planning committee should join us.”

“You know what, babe?” Harry said. “Let’s go for the sponge cake. You’re absolutely right about the fruit cake being dull.”

“Well… Let us wait and see what the Queen says.”

-

It was only an hour flight from the Isle of Smythe over to London, but Harry insisted they stripped to their underwear and laid in the small bed together that his private plane had just for him. For them.

“You nervous?” Harry asked Louis.

“I am a little, yeah.”

“Ah, the Queen’s great. If you’re nervous about the whole gay thing, she’s so good at keeping up with the times. My dad thought the world of her, you know.”

“That’s not an endorsement. Your dad hated me being around.”

“No, he didn’t,” Harry said, waving a hand dismissively. 

Louis whined and buried his nose in Harry’s neck. “The sooner this day is over, the better.”

“Would you be cross with me if I said the same thing about our wedding?”

Louis leaned his head back to look at Harry indignantly. “Take it back.”

“I’m looking forward to marrying you and being married to you, but this whole debacle is testing my patience.”

“Hm. Okay.” Louis snuggled back up against him. “I’ll let you off.”

“I wanna run away!” Harry shouted. Louis giggled and shushed him. “I want to elope!”

Shortly afterwards, Steve knocked to tell them it was ten minutes until they needed to be buckled in for landing. The two of them dressed and took their seats. It had become a little tradition of theirs when they flew together - which wasn’t very often at all - to hold hands during ascent and descent. Louis stared at Harry’s hand as he ran his thumb over his knuckles.

“There’s going to be paparazzi, I bet. Isn’t there?”

Harry sighed and nodded.

-

They arrived a little early, and so they were taken on a tour of the palace, mostly for Louis’ benefit. Every step they took brought Louis closer to an anxiety attack. He couldn’t believe he was being shown around Buckingham Palace, prior to a private audience with the Queen. It was insane.

As it went, meeting the Queen wasn’t so bad. She was cordial, but straight down to business. She and Harry discussed details that Louis didn’t even understand, but she did agree that they should feel free to have a sponge cake if they wished, but advised maybe one of each to cater to all. She also offered up Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland, as a potential honeymoon destination. 

When Harry and Louis got into the car to return to their plane, Louis hastily removed his tie, unfastened his top button and sighed with relief.

“Well. That is over and done with.”

“Wasn’t so bad, was it?” Harry grinned. “I’m sorry we don’t have time to visit your family today.”

“Ah. That’s quite alright. I’ll pop over next week, see the girls and Ernie in their wedding outfits.” Louis yawned and turned his head to smile softly. “What is our rush in aid of, anyway?”

Harry laughed quietly. “Well, uh. I have a little surprise.”

Louis sat up straight. “Oh?”

“You had mentioned you wanted to go on holiday once the engagement hysteria had died down. Well, I don’t think you anticipated such an intense wedding planning schedule.”

Louis smiled, hope bubbling in his stomach. “No.”

“I have managed to get us the next two days off, and I would like to take you away. I was wondering how you felt about the South of France.”

“Oh, my God!” Louis let out a little squeal. “That sounds amazing!”

“Oh, good! I was worried you would think it wasn’t enough.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “No. I know how difficult it is for you to get time off. There’s no point us flying half way across the world only to spend a day there.”

Harry leaned in and kissed him. “We’ll go somewhere exotic soon. I promise.”

-

They drove straight from Buckingham Palace to the plane, and the plane took them straight to their holiday location. They were staying in a secluded villa on the beach, their own little section, cut off from civilisation. 

“This is incredible.” Louis frowned. “You realise I have no luggage?”

“You know, my darling, sometimes you can be quite dense. I had your things packed, of course.”

“Ah! You really are the best. Now, where are my swimming trunks?”

They were staying for three glorious nights. Harry insisted all staff kept a low profile. Aside from the absolute seclusion, he wanted to feel like they were a normal couple on holiday together. They spent the mild Nice evening drinking champagne in the pool, before getting out and shivering together on the deck, kissing and rubbing up against each other for warmth.

They towelled off and headed inside. Louis laid his towel down on the sofa and sat naked on top of it.

“This freedom is so nice.”

Harry cocked an eyebrow. “You had all the freedom in the world before you met me. You can have it again, you know.”

“It’s not true freedom if I am not with the one I love.” Louis grabbed Harry as he approached and pulled him down onto his lap. They were both still a bit wet, and Harry nearly slid right off of him. “Do you think we could have sex on this lovely, crisp, white sofa?”

“No,” Harry replied flatly. “I have to behave responsibly sometimes, you know.”

Harry stood up and Louis grabbed his hands. Louis shuffled forward and looked up at Harry with big, puppy dog eyes.

“Well, I could suck you off instead?” Louis smirked at Harry’s hesitant expression. “Oh, come on. We’re on holiday.”

Harry relented, and Louis eagerly pulled him close. He took him in, all the way in one movement. Louis didn’t know whether it was the freedom, or the holiday, or the fact that a warm breeze tickled Harry on the arse the whole time, but he brought Harry to orgasm quicker than they were both used to. Harry dropped to Louis’ lap and gratefully sucked gentle kisses into his neck.

“I love you.”

Louis tilted his head to expose his neck and sighed. “Mm. Love you too.”

They made their way into the bedroom, still kissing, and Louis fucked Harry in the spooning position. They were quiet. When they were focused on the intimacy of the situation, neither of them tended to make much noise. Harry cried softly as Louis tugged him to his second orgasm in the space of an hour, and Louis moaned through his own, mouth firmly pressed to Harry’s shoulder and his come inside of him.

Louis woke up a couple of hours later, and he remembered they hadn’t eaten any dinner. He tiptoed into the kitchen to see what he could rustle up. He made a little platter of bread and cheese and fruit, which he took out to the terrace before going to wake Harry. 

Harry’s back was facing Louis, and just behind him was a wet patch, which Louis winced at. Maybe tonight they would sleep in one of the other five bedrooms. 

“Harry?” he whispered. “Darling?”

No response. 

“Harry, my love?” Louis sighed and moved closer to the bed. “Your Majesty?”

Harry grunted. “Huh? What is it?”

“Wake up, baby.”

Harry turned over, wincing himself when he rolled into the wet patch. He glared sleepily at Louis.

“You tricked me. I thought it was important.”

“You won’t sleep if you nap for too long. We can’t afford to have your sleeping pattern all out of whack.”

Harry sat up, rubbing slightly at his lower back where he had rolled in the wet patch.

“Ugh. Why didn’t you wear a condom?”

“Mm, because I know how much you like to  _ feel  _ me, baby.” Louis folded his arms and smiled softly. “I’ve prepared us something to eat. Come on.”

-

All in all, it was mostly just nice to be left alone. Only once had Harry been disturbed with an urgent matter, and he had only spent a few minutes on it. Louis was very pleased. During all the wedding planning and other twenty-four-seven stresses that came with being King - and the king’s betrothed - Louis would just need to remember this trip and it would remind him exactly why he was so eager to marry Harry. Not that it was easy to forget, exactly. 

Midday on their first full day was the next time that Harry put any clothes on. Louis had eaten breakfast in swimming trunks and a t-shirt, but Harry had been taking full advantage of the seclusion. He had spent most of the morning in the pool, but when it came to sunbathing, he pulled on a very small pair of boxer shorts.

“You know…” Louis said, peering at Harry through his sunglasses. “The  _ common  _ folk favour it the other way around. Clothes most of the time, and no clothes when they sunbathe.”

“I don’t like having the sun directly on my bits,” Harry said. “Anyway, I like tan lines.”

“You like tan lines?” Louis scoffed and closed his eyes. “That is weird, my love.”

“I don’t care what you think,” Harry said decisively and laid on the lounger next to Louis.

“Hm.” Louis smiled. “Do you feel normal yet?”

“Not quite. I think we need to go out tonight. Drink one of those big cocktails in a fishbowl, or whatever. Throw up until we are dry heaving.”

Louis looked at him and burst out laughing. “You’ve been watching too much TV.”

They fell silent for a few minutes. Louis turned over to get some sun to his back, and Harry did the same.

“Can you believe we’ll be married in four weeks?”

Louis hummed in agreement. “I know. I can’t believe how quickly it’s all come together.”

“Well, when you’re royalty, you don’t need venues two years in advance.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Did you speak to anybody? About that heir to the throne rule?”

“No.” Harry tutted quietly. “I should have asked Her Majesty yesterday. No troubles, I’ll give her a ring when we get back. I’m sure nobody would object to a touch of rule bending, considering the circumstances.”

“Especially as our entire marriage requires a bit of rule bending to even take place.”

-

The pair of them did essentially nothing for the entire trip, and after two full days with nothing to do, they hopped back on the plane home. As soon as they stepped foot in the palace, Harry was met with a barrage of people asking him things and telling him things, and Harry silenced them all and went to visit Honeycomb. 

Louis was left alone, save for a few quick questions about the wedding. 

“Sir? Your family. Shall I send a team over to do their fittings? We were thinking to do some preliminary fittings, and pop back over a day or two before the event. Just to cater for the little ones growing a bit.”

“Sure, yeah. I wanted to pop over next week, so maybe coincide it with that. You’ll need to find out when I have a gap in my schedule, I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest idea.”

“Very good, Sir.”

Louis headed up to his and Harry’s bedroom and took a shower. It was mere hours since he had showered that same morning, but he always felt like he needed to wash plane journeys off of him. Afterwards, he moisturised and stood in the mirror to inspect his tan. It wasn’t a particularly strong tan, but he looked rather sun kissed, and he couldn’t help but hope that he retained some of the colour for the wedding. 

“No tan lines?”

Louis jumped and spun around. Harry was leaning against the frame of the open bathroom door.

“You have a habit of sneaking around.”

Harry shrugged. “Well, if I can do it, a member of staff can. You want our staff to see you naked? Is that it?”

“If they see fit to walk into our private bedroom, and then into the bathroom unannounced, then that isn’t anything to do with me.”

“Hm. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but we are needed for some meetings. I would advise that you dressed for the occasion.”

Louis looked at Harry, unimpressed, and headed back into the bedroom.

“At least I have a better tan than you.”

“That’s not true.”

“Your arse is whiter than milk.”

Harry made a noise of indignation, catching up to Louis and smacking him on the bum. Louis stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder.

“Oh. Don’t be naughty. We simply don’t have time.”

“Get dressed,” Harry ordered authoritatively, before realising his tone and smiling at Louis placatingly. “Please. Hey, I was thinking.”

“Were you?” Louis replied coolly.

“We shouldn’t have sex anymore.”

“Fine by me,” Louis said immediately, before relenting with a smile. “What are you talking about?”

“I think we should save it for our wedding night. That’s a thing that people do, isn’t it?”

“So, it’s some regular people thing that you read on the internet and now you wanna do it?”

“Shut up,” Harry said with a smirk. “We enjoy a very healthy sex life, and I’m trying to think of a way to make it feel as special and momentous as if it was our first time.”

“Alright. We’ll give it a go. Although, I hope you aren’t looking to implement a no masturbation policy because…”

“No, no.” Harry shook his head. “That’s okay, but… go easy.”

Louis just smirked.

-

The next few weeks were a whirlwind. Louis popped home the next week, but only for the day. Harry was working extra hard to get as much done before the wedding and consequential honeymoon, so that he didn’t have such a backlog when they returned. He started working long into the night and, even if they didn’t have a no sex rule, Louis wouldn’t have been getting any.

Harry finally took a day off a little over a week before the wedding, and he and Louis stayed in bed until eleven before getting up to take Honeycomb for a run around the grounds. It was a feeling of relief for Louis to spend some time with him.

“We’ll spend lots of time together on our honeymoon,” Harry offered.

“For five days!” Louis whined. 

_ “Yes, _ but once we are married, you will accompany me on most trips.”

Louis sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“So, what’s been going on? We’ve barely spoken.”

“When I went home for the day, I briefly popped by to see my tenants. Despite living in my house and having spoken to me about a million times previous, they were very excited by my presence.”

Harry snorted. “I told you. You’re a celebrity, now.”

“And I think there was someone in the bushes outside my family home, taking pictures of me.”

“Vultures.” Harry pushed his hands into his pockets. “I have a massage booked for later. I need to destress. Want me to book you one, too?”

“Oh, that would be lovely. Hey, I just realised. Are we having stag nights?” Louis narrowed his eyes. “No one has said anything about having time allotted for it.”

“Oh, I don’t think the suits would have thought about it. I’ll make some enquiries when we get back. Do you want one?”

“I mean, it would be a nice excuse to go out with the lads back home. I never see them anymore.”

“Are they all attending the wedding? I worry about your guests struggling with the short notice.”

Louis laughed softly. “Aw, darling. They’d all bend over backwards to attend a royal wedding.”

Sometimes, Louis got caught up in the fact that this was his life, now, and forgot how unusual it was. When he said the words  _ royal wedding,  _ it hit him all over again. He was about to become part of a royal family. He was marrying a king. He had grown somewhat used to the idea himself, but he couldn’t help but reflect on how it affected everybody back home. His oldest sisters were in the process of having their lives completely turned upside down. The youngest twins would never know a normal life, never know anonymity. 

“Do you want to hear what one of my senior advisors said to me today?”

Louis nodded. “What?”

“Said I need to grow up and act like an adult. Like a real king.”

Louis cackled loudly. “Fair.”

“What do you mean fair?!” Harry whined. “I don’t think I act young for my age, or anything.”

“Love, we both act rather immature. To be fair, I think you’re allowed. You finally have a bit of freedom, and you didn’t have a normal childhood.”

“Right. I feel like I had to grow up as soon as that bomb went off. That was where my childhood ended.”

“Exactly. So tell him to fuck off.” Louis scrunched his nose up. “Actually, don’t do that.”

“Ah, I probably should start taking things a bit more seriously. I’m the king of this country.” Harry smirked. “After the wedding. Until then, I’m going to enjoy being a bachelor for another week.”

“That makes it sound like you’re going to go out and sleep with a bunch of other guys.”

Harry stopped, and grabbed Louis’ hand to stop him, too.  _ “No.  _ I’m not going to sleep with another person for as long as I live.”

“What if I die in like, three months’ time? You would never remarry, or even date?”

“Nope.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “You would.”

“Why are we talking about this?” Harry complained. “Can we just go inside and have some lunch?”

“I suppose so. So, what time are you getting your massage?”

“Six. I think we should just continue to do nothing for the rest of the day. I miss doing nothing.”

“Alright. How about a swim after massages?”

-

Two days before the wedding, Louis headed home. He had a rather low key stag night - after all, the eyes of the world were on him - and stayed round Stan’s. The next morning, he went home to see his family.

“Lotts,” his mum said, sounding exasperated. “You need to have your stuff packed in an hour, we’re leaving soon. And where’s Daisy?”

Louis chuckled as he kicked his shoes off and stretched his legs out on the sofa. As much as he loved living with Harry in the palace, it felt so special to be in a regular home. His family home.

“What are you doing?” Louis’ mum frowned at him. “You’re getting married tomorrow and you’re putting your feet up?”

“Aw, Mum!” Louis whined. “I’m hungover. Leave me alone.”

She gave him a stern look before disappearing into the kitchen. Louis was to bring his family over to the Isle of Smythe, and he would stay in the palace with them, in the guest wing. Harry would stay in their usual bedroom, and the two wouldn’t see each other until the altar.

His sisters were all running about, banging and crashing through the house, making sure they had everything packed. The chaos was so familiar and warm. He couldn’t wait to bring the family over as much as possible once he and Harry were married. He could take them to the north palace. He had such wonderful memories there, and he would love for them to make some memories, too.

“Louis, darling?” his mum called from the kitchen. “Look, if we’re late, will the plane wait for us?”

Louis sighed, standing to his feet and walking into the kitchen.

“Yes, Mum. I told you, it’s a private plane.”

“But we have a departure time for a reason.”

Louis shrugged, relenting. “Yeah. We’ll have a slot for take off, and if we miss it we have to wait for another opportunity. It’s not the end of the world, but it could delay us quite a bit.”

“And you have things to do!” She squeezed his face with one hand and grinned. “You’re getting married tomorrow!”

“Yeah.”

“How many guests are attending?”

Louis’ stomach lurched. “Five hundred.”

“So, tell me the famous guests.”

“Mum,” Louis whined, before sighing. “Well, Smythe’s Chief Minister will be there. The Queen, and the Prime Minister. The rest of the immediate royal family. Niall Horan.”

“The singer?”

“Yes, the singer. He and Harry were at an event once, and they met and became sort of friends. I’ve not even met him. Niall’s been on tour for forever.”

Louis’ mum nodded, pausing to listen for the girls, and poking her head around the doorframe just to make sure nobody was listening.

“And how does Harry feel about Anne? About her not being able to participate in the wedding?”

Louis pressed his lips together. “It’s not ideal. She will be in it as much as possible, but obviously she can’t be a visible presence. Ideally, he would have absolutely loved her to give him away, but… I mean, it can’t be helped.”

“It’s a damn shame. We should have our own little ceremony. Family and close friends only.”

Louis smiled at his mother. “You know what? That might be a good idea.”

-

A knock on the door woke Louis.

“Sir?”

He sat up and saw a butler standing at the ajar door. Louis sighed and sat up.

“Come in.”

“Thank you, sir. The King ordered you a special breakfast for the bless’d morning of your wedding day.”

Louis grinned sleepily. “Oh? Well, thank you.”

The tray of food was placed on his lap and the covers taken from the plates. Immediately Louis could smell the buttery scrambled eggs, topped with parmesan and dotted with some kind of chopped up herb. There was a huge, fresh croissant sitting next to it and perfectly browned toast on a third plate. 

“I shall return in a moment with the coffee.”

Louis smiled down at the food. Harry normally couldn’t stomach much more than toast in the mornings, and Louis always ate whatever Harry did, so having a full and satisfying breakfast sounded wonderful. And smelled wonderful, too.

The butler returned with a pot of coffee.

“It’s strong. The King said you would need it.”

Louis chuckled softly. “He is right. I barely slept a wink.”

The butler smiled as he poured a cup. “It is a big day, sir. For the whole country.”

“Oh, don’t say that!” Louis whined. “I’ll never be able to eat.”

“My apologies, sir.”

“May I ask, who prepared this breakfast?”

“Ms. Selley prepared it herself, sir. She insisted. Would you like anything else?”

“No, thank you. Oh, wait! Can you have a cup of tea sent up in about half an hour?”

“Certainly. Good day, sir.”

Louis let himself completely enjoy his delightful breakfast, lovingly prepared by the woman who was, in a few hours, to become his mother in law. After eating all of his food and starting his second cup of coffee, he bit his lip, tilted his head, and sent a selfie to Harry.

_ ‘Thinking of you.’ _

Louis wondered if it was wildly inappropriate to have a wank on the morning of his own royal wedding. The truth was that he felt a teeny tiny bit horny, and it would probably be beneficial to his mental state to have a wank. He was jerked out of his contemplation by his phone vibrating.

Louis unlocked his phone and immediately groaned. 

_ ‘Thinking of you, too.’ _

Harry had sent him a photo of himself on the bed, naked save for a towel which was conveniently placed to just about cover his cock. Which was hard and tenting said towel. Louis shook his head and tapped out a reply.

_ ‘You can’t do this to me. You haven’t fucked me in four weeks, you absolute arsehole.’ _

_ ‘Go and get rid of that thing. If it helps, I’ll be doing the same thing. You’re in trouble tonight.’ _

Louis sighed and headed to the shower. He set the temperature and quickly combed through his hair. He tried his best to not think about the fact that it was his wedding day. It was just another day, just another shower. He jumped in and sighed as the hot spray hit the muscles of his back.

Louis tried to focus on the fact that, on the other side of the palace, Harry was touching himself, probably also in the shower. It was a lovely image. Louis would never forget the first time he watched Harry touch himself. Louis was being paid for his time, and he had been working on getting Harry to submit to paying for sex acts. It was hard to regret coaxing him into it, considering today was the morning of their wedding.

He had always found Prince Harry attractive, but from the moment Harry had started paying him for his time, Louis had wanted him. Tall, handsome, green-eyed and stubborn, he was a walking gay wet dream, or at least that was how Louis saw it.

Louis threw his head back and just started laughing loudly in the shower. They had come a long way since he had been sat in that white chair, watching Harry masturbate as he did the same. Louis lathered his body up and started to tug on his cock. Things were so deliciously exciting at the beginning. The memories felt like enough as Louis remembered their first kiss, their mutual masturbation. The time they were watching a film and Louis ended up straddling Harry and giving him a freebie. They nearly fell out over it, but it resulted in Harry treating Louis to a session of rimming.

Louis surprised himself with his orgasm, coming over his fist with a surprised yelp. He braced himself against the wall of the shower while he came down, watching come and soap swirl down the drain. 

They were getting married today.

-

“So, how did you decide who would walk down the aisle and who would be waiting at the altar?”

Louis hummed as his mother fussed with his bow tie. “Well, I didn’t argue with this one. And I’ve argued a lot.” Louis smirked. “But it was agreed that, since Harry is King, he should walk down the aisle. They said that since Harry is the more public figure, all eyes will be on him so it just makes more sense.”

“And who will be giving him away?”

Louis grinned softly. “Steve. I know it’s weird, but Steve’s been his best friend for a long time and, since Steve will be leaving in a few days, it makes sense for him to literally hand Harry over to me.”

“He isn’t your property, darling.”

“I know, Mum,” Louis said with a roll of his eyes. “That isn’t what I meant.”

“Good.” She tapped him on the chest. “I think you’re nearly ready to go.”

“The hair and makeup team said they need to do a final check before we start.” Louis rolled his eyes and started to pace. “It’s all a bit silly.”

“You need to be camera ready,” his mum said. “You’ll be on TV. Broadcast worldwide.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.” Louis huffed. “Oh, God. My wedding is going to be televised. Do you think it’s too late to back out?”

His mother just tutted. “Well, we have a few minutes left. Do you need to use the toilet, or anything?”

“Mum!” Louis whined with a laugh.

A runner from the wedding knocked on the door and quickly poked her head in.

“Two minutes, Mr. Tomlinson.”

The hair and makeup team were ushered in and they worked over Louis at lightning speed. He barely even realised they had done anything before they were gone, and his mother was linking her arm in his.

“Let’s go get you married off.”

She turned him to the full length mirror. She was a vision in a mid-length pale pink dress, and Louis was in a simple charcoal tuxedo. They smiled at each other in the reflection.

“You look wonderful, honey.”

“Thanks.” Louis tugged at his jacket. “It feels a bit... basic.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Louis took a deep breath just as the runner knocked on the door again. 

-

“Oh, Louis.  _ Oh, _ darling. He is an absolute vision.”

“Fuck,” Louis muttered. “Should I look?”

“Yes,” his mother whispered back. “Don’t swear.”

Louis turned his head to look down the aisle. His eyes fell on Steve first, whose hair was tied up in a neat bun high on his head. He was wearing a simple black and white suit, his arm linked in Harry’s.

Harry was wearing an electric blue suit. It was very expertly fitted and Harry looked fantastic - blue always did suit him - but it was very plain. Louis thought it was perfect, but it was far, far less than was expected of him.

It was a muted, yet bold, rebellion against royal tradition. Louis didn’t think he could love Harry any more than he already did, but somehow, in that moment, he did.

When they reached the altar, Steve kissed Harry’s hand in a touching display of affection, and Harry took his place beside Louis.

“Well,” Louis murmured. “You are full of surprises.”

“You look incredible!” Harry grinned. “The way those trousers are fitted-”

“Not now,” Louis muttered. “There are literally over a billion people watching this live.”

They held hands, clutching at each other all the way through their vows. Louis kept glancing at Harry out of the corner of his eye, watching as Harry welled up more and more before eventually starting to quietly cry. Louis squeezed his hand and tried his best to not let his stupid smile let it look like he was laughing at Harry.

The vows were the easy bit. They exchanged rings and  _ I wills _ and were pronounced husbands at just after twenty past twelve, sealing it with a kiss which made Louis’ heart flutter. It symbolised the beginning of a new chapter. 

They took their seats as the Minister started to speak. Harry’s aides had managed to place Anne directly behind Harry, and she took his hand wordlessly as tears streamed down her face.

When the ceremony was finally over, Harry and Louis were ushered away to sign the register. It was a process that took far longer than it should have, due to all the cameras and security. They signed their names - they were now legally married - and they finally had five minutes to themselves before it was time for the official wedding photoshoot.

“Do you need a wee, or anything?” Louis asked Harry as he slipped his tux jacket off. 

“No. I was nervous that I was gonna need to go during the ceremony, so I haven’t had a drink for hours.”

“For fuck’s sake!” Louis grabbed a glass bottle of water from a nearby table and unscrewed the lid. “You’ll get ill, you idiot.”

“That’s a wonderful way to speak to your new husband.”

“I like that. I prefer you referring to yourself as my new husband, as opposed to ‘the King’.”

“Oi. Shut up.” Harry grinned. “Ah, baby. We’re married!”

Louis let out a laugh before moving close to Harry, and they easily wrapped their arms around each other.

“I love you, Harry.”

“Love you, too. Listen, while we have a few minutes alone. I have something I need to tell you.”

“It is a little too late to dump me.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Seriously. It’s important.”

“Alright. Shall we sit down?”

The room they were in was small and sweet, a plush two-seater sofa in the middle of the room, flanked by tables covered in flowers. They sat down together and Harry folded his hands in his lap.

“I spoke to the Queen about our little heir to the throne issue.”

Louis raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Oh. You did?”

“We had a meeting, a long meeting. The Prime Minister was there, our Chief Minister…”

“When the hell was all this?!”

“Never you mind!” Harry smirked. “Anyway, it was quite the process, but it was agreed that as long as the child is my blood descendent, it would be acceptable for he or she to be eligible to ascend the throne.”

Louis grinned widely. “Oh. That is fantastic!”

“If only that rule was in place before I was born. I would be eligible for the throne myself.”

“You need to stop talking about that.” Louis stood and gave Harry a warning look. “One day, the wrong person will overhear. We don’t want you getting overthrown.”

“I think my people like me, though.”

“I don’t think it’s a public opinion thing. I think the government would be obligated to remove you from power.” Louis shrugged. “I don’t know. You’re the king.”

“I promise I’ll be more careful.” Harry stood up and approached Louis. “Give me a kiss before we have to go.”

Louis pecked Harry’s mouth, but Harry slipped his hand around the back of Louis’ neck and pressed their lips together again, soft and sweet. He lingered against Louis’ mouth, and Louis imagined Harry channelling all of his love into it. It felt like he was, and Louis could only hope he could put across the same feeling.

Harry pulled away, and Louis went in for another quick kiss, just for good measure.

“You wanna know the one thing wrong with today?”

“What?” Louis asked.

Harry frowned. “The fact we’ll have our wedding photos taken and my mother can’t be a part of it.”

“Oh.” Louis sighed and took Harry’s hands in his own. “We’ll sort it. Maybe she won’t be in our group photos, but we will take some with her.”

“Promise?”

“Of course.”

They headed out. It was a lovely, sunny day for it, and the photos promised to come out perfect. When the photographer was happy, Louis took her aside.

“We just have a few more shots you need to take.”

“No problem.”

They cleared everybody away, and Steve went to find Anne. When he returned with her in tow, she crept in rather sheepishly.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?”

“Absolutely,” Louis said, embracing his mother-in-law and kissing her on the cheek. “But we should be quick.”

They took some photos of Harry, Louis, and Anne, inside at first and then outside. Steve jumped in for a couple of photos, and then Louis went to fetch his own mum.

After another round of photos, Harry and Louis were bundled into a car and taken to the north palace. They had another photoshoot there, before heading onto a balcony to greet the media. 

“I’m bloody knackered,” Harry murmured to Louis as they both grinned inanely and waved. 

“Well, we have two hours of rest after this.” Louis turned slightly to wave over to the side. “Didn’t you read the schedule at all?”

“Not recently. Honestly, I probably thought someone would make me do work in that time.”

Louis turned back to Harry and stepped close. “Over my dead body. You and I will be taking a nap.”

Harry wrapped his arm around Louis’ waist and pulled him closer, and the crowd cheered.

“So, what does this schedule say about the reception? How long will it be?”

“Just a few hours. We’re to be off to Scotland at half nine. We have the wedding breakfast after our rest, and then cutting the cake and our first dance. Then it will be an hour of mingling, tops.”

“I really should have read the schedule.”

“Mm, that’s what I’m here for.”

They were released to do what they pleased, and Harry immediately led Louis to his old bedroom. They had lived here together - sort of - and the place was awash with memories of the infancy of their relationship. Louis couldn’t help but smile. It had always been his favourite of the two palaces. It was far more traditional. After the main palace had been bombed, it had been completely rebuilt and had much more of a modern feel. 

When Louis had met Harry for the very first time, it had been here. Harry had interviewed him for the position of his escort, and Louis hadn’t wanted a job more than he wanted that one.

“This would be a great time to get up to something.” Harry shrugged. “If only we didn’t have our little pact.”

Louis threw himself down on the bed before untying his shoes, kicking them across the room and then removing his jacket.

“Hey,” he said. “You wanna know something that’s warm, and satisfying, and intimate, and will make you feel really, really good?”

Harry smirked. “What?”

“Us taking a nap together.”

-

Louis stared at the sword in a sort of fearful awe.

“Maybe we should have practised this,” Louis said with a frown.

“We don’t have to cut the cake into a hundred equal pieces. We just need to hold it steady for the photos. And just cut into it.”

Louis lifted it. Okay, so it wasn’t as heavy as he thought it would be. 

“Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness. If you would like to lift the sword and place the blade on top of the lower tier.”

In all the madness, Louis had forgotten he would have a new title. He was taken aback, and almost failed to help Harry lift the sword. They did as instructed, before pressing the blade down and cutting the cake.

It all passed in a whirlwind as they danced and chatted and before Louis knew it, he was being torn away from his wedding and bundled into a car to the airport. Harry had just had a bit of an emotional goodbye with Steve, who would leave his position as Harry’s minder and no longer live in the palace or work for Harry.

“Thank God that’s over,” Harry said with a sigh as he pulled his tie loose.

“The wedding or the Steve thing?”

“I mean... the Steve thing, too, but I was referring to the wedding.” 

“You’re such an arsehole.” Louis swatted at him. “You really know how to make a guy feel unwanted.”

“Come on. How many times? It is the marriage I’m looking forward to.”

“You’re not getting laid tonight.”

Harry glanced towards the driver before looking back at Louis. “We both know that isn’t true. You cannot wait.”

“If you’re trying to goad me into it now, you have severely misplaced hopes.”

“No, no.” Harry cleared his throat and placed his hand on Louis’ thigh. “No sex ‘til Edinburgh.”

-

After a power nap on the plane, Louis felt somewhat human. Having a second nap, especially so late, seemed a bit silly but Louis was absolutely not prepared to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Not on his wedding night.

The pair of them met a good few staff members at the residence, and Louis left Harry to talk through their need for privacy and went to have a shower. When he was done, he wandered about the room with a towel around his waist. 

The room was very traditional and fairly rustic. There were random knick knacks dotted around the place and Louis was inspecting them when he heard the door close behind him.

“Oh. Hello.”

Harry grinned and looked Louis up and down. “Get dressed. I’m going to shower.”

“What do you mean, get dressed?” Louis trotted after Harry into the bathroom, leaning against the sink to watch him undress. “What for? Are we going somewhere?”

Harry stepped out of his boxers and rolled his eyes. 

“No. But we are going to do this properly.”

“Oh.” Louis grinned. “I see. How romantic.”

Harry nodded towards the door. “Now, get out.”

Louis sighed and left the room. Their things had been brought up and unpacked, and he rifled through the drawers to find some grey joggers and a t-shirt. He dressed before throwing himself down on the bed and pulling his phone from his pocket. He decided to quickly text his mother before turning his phone off for the night.

_ ‘We’re here! Harry’s just having a shower then we’re going off grid. Everything ok?x’ _

Her reply came through almost immediately.

_ ‘Yes, darling! Everything is in hand, don’t you worry about a thing x have a good night x’ _

Louis smiled to himself before turning his phone off and putting it in a bedside drawer. He could hear Harry quietly singing in the shower, and absolutely nothing else. He stood up and approached the window. The palace had eight acres of land behind it and Louis looked out. A few splatters of rain hit the window and he watched as it became heavier. Thank goodness it held off. Hopefully it would hold off tomorrow, too. 

“Aw, is it raining?” Harry said, making Louis jump. “That’s a shame.”

“Really? I think it’s sort of romantic.”

Harry hummed in agreement. “Well, we can stay here, snuggled up, anyway.”

Louis returned to the bed and watched as Harry dried himself and dressed in pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt. Harry spun around to face him comically, and Louis’s eyes flickered down to his t-shirt before he groaned loudly.

“Oh, my God. What the hell is that?”

Harry was wearing a white t-shirt, printed on the front with one of their engagement photos, framed with a tacky gold pattern, and the words  _ Harry and Louis _ curled underneath along with the date. The Union Jack flag was emblazoned on Louis’ side, and the white, green, and blue design of the Isle of Smythe flag on Harry’s. 

“One of the butlers gave it to me as a wedding gift.”

“Who?” Louis asked. “Sack them immediately.”

Harry tilted his head and gave him a grin. “Come on. It’s fun!”

“I’m not having sex with you while you’re wearing that.”

Harry let out a little laugh as he walked over to the bed and laid down next to Louis.

“Take it off me, then.”

“No,” Louis stated, smiling slightly, and he wiggled closer. “If you want to do this properly, you have to build up to that sort of thing.”

“So, you’re saying we’re role playing?” Harry smirked filthily. “Again?”

“No, I thought that’s what you wanted. To make it special, as if it was our first time.”

“I just want it to be a bit more romantic than, ‘hurry up and take your clothes off, I’ve got a meeting with the Chief Minister in twenty minutes, then I need to attend a talk about healthier school lunches’.”

“Alright,” Louis said with a laugh. “So, are you going to woo me? Or do I need to woo you?”

Harry lifted his head onto his palm and ran a finger over Louis’ jaw, across his chin, skating down his throat and hooking into the neck of his t-shirt.

“If I haven’t already said it…” Harry whispered. “Today has been the best day of my life.”

“Really?” Louis smiled softly. “When do you reckon you might have mentioned this? Before or after you said that you’re happy it’s all over and done with?”

“Be quiet. I love you a lot, you know.”

Louis nodded and sighed. “Me, too. I can’t believe I get to spend my life with you.”

“You get to spend your life with  _ the king of Smythe!” _

“That’s it!” Louis giggled and shook his head. “You ruin  _ everything.” _

“I don’t.” Harry grabbed Louis and rolled them both, rolling on top of him. “I’ll ruin you.”

“See!”

“Sorry, I’m sorry.” Harry kissed him. “I’ll be good.”

“Doubtful.”

Harry giggled as they kissed again. They stayed that way for a little while, kissing slowly, Louis’ hands roaming Harry’s back and bum. Harry’s body pressed down into him like a weighted blanket, and he opened his legs and wrapped them around Harry’s hips.

“Can we just stay like this for the whole honeymoon?”

“Definitely.”

Soon enough, Louis pulled the ridiculous, tacky t-shirt up over Harry’s head and threw it as hard as he could manage across the room. They both undressed, and Harry wasted no time in crawling down the bed and taking Louis into his mouth. Harry licked and sucked over Louis’ cock for a few minutes before pulling some lube from the backpack he kept with him on the plane. He absently stroked over Louis with his left hand as he fumbled with his right, pushing two fingers against his rim to open himself up as best he could. It was an absolute vision, Louis had to admit. Harry gasped as he pushed in and out, pausing for a brief second to lean down and press a kiss to Louis’ hot tip. 

Louis let out a tense groan. “Babe, let me help you.”

“No,” Harry replied, strained. “Nearly ready.”

“On two fingers?”

“Yeah.”

Harry’s brow was furrowed in concentration, and he was staring at Louis’ cock. He pulled his fingers from his arse and started to shuffle up Louis’ body to position himself.

“Baby, are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yeah.” Harry straddled Louis’ hips and reached behind to grab Louis’ cock and line it up with his hole. “I wanna feel you stretching me.”

“God,” Louis muttered. “No condom?”

“On our wedding night, are you joking?” Harry scoffed, his eyes fluttering closed as Louis’ tip pressed against his rim. “Fuck.”

Harry was tight.  _ So _ tight. He sunk down on Louis’ cock, and Louis clenched his teeth and dug his fingertips into Harry’s thighs. Harry started to rock as he pushed himself down slowly, pulling Louis into him bit by bit. Harry leaned down to kiss Louis, and they moved together, unhurried and sensual. The heat between their bodies was searing, their skin moistening with sweat as they moved, syncing into a rhythm. They panted together, muttered I love yous, got lost in each other. Louis scrambled to flip them over, taking control and thrusting into Harry until he came deep inside him, crying out so loudly that the Queen’s poor members of staff could probably hear. As best he could, he reached between their bodies and tugged at Harry’s cock until he came, too. 

“Oh, gosh.” Harry inhaled loudly. “You know what? I could do with a glass of wine.”

Louis giggled, kissing Harry sweetly on the lips before climbing off the bed. He walked over and threw a window open before heading into the bathroom and running a flannel under the tap.

“We should get an early night, tonight,” Louis called through to the bedroom. “It’s been a long day. No staying up for the sake of it.”

“Aww!” Harry whined as Louis walked back in. “But I love staying up for the sake of it.”

Harry was pouting and absently running his fingertips through the mess on his stomach. Louis frowned.

“I know you do. Stop doing that.” He grabbed Harry’s hand and wiped it clean before wiping at his stomach. “I know you want to make the most of this time off, but we won’t do that if we feel like shit.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Why are you so clever?”

-

Louis was awake first. It almost never happened. 

He took a shower and turned his phone on. He had a short text conversation with his mother before ringing down for some breakfast for himself and Harry.

When the breakfast arrived, the knock at the door woke Harry.

“Oh.” Harry bolted upright and blinked rapidly. “Is it for me?”

“Relax, my darling. It’s breakfast.”

“Why?”

Louis rolled his eyes and let in a young, wide eyed member of staff who carried a platter of food. Louis took it from him and thanked him, waiting until the door was shut and spinning around to face Harry.

“I ordered it. I was going to wake you.”

Harry blearily looked at the clock on the opposite wall. “It isn’t even nine!”

“Well…” Louis cleared his throat as he placed the platter on the bed and climbed in next to Harry. “We have things to do today.”

“Oh?”

“I, um. I have a small surprise.”

“Oh!” Harry smirked widely. “A surprise!”

“Yup. Eat.”

When they had eaten and Harry was out of the shower, he leaned against the doorframe and watched Louis texting.

“What should I wear?”

Louis looked up and pouted. “Why don’t you wear your very favourite outfit? Whatever you want.”

“Really?” Harry asked brightly.

-

Louis dressed in his best black skinny jeans and a new grey jumper that he had recently bought. He went into the bathroom to do his hair, and when he came back out Harry had dressed in blue skinny jeans and his godforsaken Rolling Stones t-shirt, full of holes and held together in places by safety pins. Louis grinned widely. He looked perfect.

“Nice outfit choice.”

Harry frowned. “I don’t know. Are you sure this is okay for whatever you have planned?”

Louis shrugged with a grin. “I reckon so.”

Harry grinned back. “So, are you gonna tell me?”

“No. The car will be here in a minute.”

Harry shrugged and went into the bathroom to fuss with his own hair. He was growing it out again, but he had got it trimmed and tidied for the wedding. 

“You look great, love. Come on.”

They headed downstairs and both made small talk with members of staff until the car arrived. Once they were in, Harry took Louis’ hand. He looked down at Harry’s wedding ring, glistening in the sunlight, and smiled.

“This is really weird,” Harry said. “Not knowing where I am going. My life is so meticulously planned out, every day.”

“You won’t be in the dark for too long, my love.”

Harry looked out of the window and frowned. “Are we just circling the grounds?”

Louis hid a grin behind his hand. “Just be patient.”

They rounded a corner and, in the distance, in a field, Louis could see the cute little set up that was their destination. He grabbed hold of Harry’s hands.

“Look at me.”

“Um. Okay.”

“So… I know our wedding wasn’t the perfect wedding you would have ideally wanted.”

“My darling, I told you. It was the best day of my life.”

Louis smiled. “I know. But I know it isn’t what you would have wanted if you could have chosen everything yourself.”

“Okay.” Harry narrowed his eyes. “Come on, then. What’s the punchline?”

“When I was home, my mother asked me how you felt about Anne not being in the wedding. I said that, obviously, you would have liked her to give you away and be more of a visible presence but what could we do? And she said that it’s a shame and that we should have a little ceremony for our very nearest and dearest.”

Harry’s eyes were widening to almost a comical size and he started to shake his head.

“Don’t tell me. You didn’t.”

“So, our friends and families are waiting in a field for us, and we’re about to arrive.”

Harry looked like he was about to cry. He shook his head again and looked down at his attire.

“And you let me dress like this?”

“Well, I know how much you wanted to rebel against the expectations you had put upon you for your wedding attire, and anyway, you’re comfortable in this stuff.”

Harry let out a soft little laugh before leaning over to kiss Louis.

“I love you so much, alright?”

The car came to a stop and Louis leapt out and dashed around to open Harry’s door before the driver had the chance. He took Harry’s hand and they walked through a gate into the field, where their mothers were waiting.

“Thank you for everything,” Louis told his mum. “You’ve made this truly special.”

Anne looked like she was barely holding herself together. The thing was, although this was all for Harry, it was a wonderful thing for Anne, too. She didn’t get to be a part of her son’s wedding, but she had a second chance. 

“Hello, Mum.” Harry kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you so much for coming.”

Anne grinned widely. “I told the kitchen staff I had to come to Holyrood because you couldn’t bear to be without my cooking!”

Harry threw his head back and laughed. He seemed so joyful all of a sudden, and Louis felt a jolt in his heart. He had got this one so right.

Louis and his mother took their place at the top of the aisle, where Steve was waiting to address the guests. Anne, dressed in cargo shorts and a vest top, walked the king down the aisle in his tatty t-shirt and skinny jeans, and Louis watched with a huge smile on his face. 

They held hands as Steve briefly spoke about their relationship, talking about the way they clicked immediately, Harry’s rebellion against his father and how invaluable Louis was to Harry once his father had passed. They went through the motions of saying basic vows and ended the ceremony with a kiss. A young man of around twenty clutched a camera bigger than his head as Louis, Harry, and their guests arranged themselves for photos. Harry couldn’t stop smiling, which in turn had the same effect on Louis. Harry seemed ecstatic to have his mother in every photo, standing by his side.

They walked en mass back down to the palace. A small reception had been set up in the back banqueting room and, as they made their way down, Harry fell in step with Louis and took his hand.

“I shall never be able to say thank you enough for this, Louis.”

“You’re welcome, my love. My mum did all the work, though. Yours, too.”

“I’m the luckiest man on earth. And the happiest!”

“I’m glad. So, we’re about to sit down for a spot of lunch, then have a little party. Low key. Then everybody will go home and our honeymoon will resume.” Louis heard the distinct sound of a camera shutter behind them, and Harry instinctively snapped his head around. “Don’t worry. That kid works in the palace, and has signed the strictest of NDAs. He’s just capturing the candid moments, and all that.”

Harry pouted and nodded. “Who does the camera belong to?”

“I think it’s from the palace. As in, it belongs to you.”

“Oh, okay.” Harry shrugged. “I cannot believe they aren’t any helicopters flying overhead.”

“They set this whole thing up very quickly, very last minute. I don’t think anybody would have had the time to realise something was going on.”

Harry smiled. “It has all been very well done.”

-

Harry took it upon himself to give a little speech after lunch, and once their little party started he took countless photos with his phone. He shot a video of Louis dancing with a beer in his hand, before pocketing his phone and snogging him in the middle of the dance floor.

Once their friends and families were in cars and sent off to the airport, the pair of them raided the kitchen for snacks, and then headed back out to the same field, which was now bare. Harry had a joint, which they shared as they stared up at the dusky sky.

“Should I put something on Instagram?” Harry asked. “Tell people?”

“Hm? Maybe in a few days.”

“Okay.” Harry exhaled, his lips making a flapping sound. “I am very pleased you’ll be accompanying me on all my trips. Some can be very exhausting, you know. We might find it a strain, being together constantly.”

“Ah, we’ll work it out. In fact, I’m looking forward to our arguments. It’s all part of being married.”

Harry shuffled closer to Louis and buried his nose in Louis’ neck.

“Mm, I love you.”

“Love you, too. Be careful, baby. You’ll get grass stains on your favourite t-shirt.”

Harry flipped over and rested his palms on Louis’ chest. He gave him a cheeky grin.

“Is that an invitation to get some grass stains?”

“No!”

“Because… I wouldn’t mind. If my t-shirt got stained, at least it would be evidence of a good memory.”

“No!” Louis said with a laugh. “One of us has to remain sensible.”

Harry was good at his job, despite his proclivity to be reckless and defiant. It was what made him a popular king and, shortly after the wedding, the palace’s media office were reporting that the public of Smythe were more in support of the monarchy than they had been in decades. 

Life wasn’t so bad. Louis took to not having a ‘regular’ job like a duck to water, in the end, and on quieter days he involved himself in some of the day-to-day running of the palace. It was reminiscent of his job, and he found it immensely satisfying. 

Once upon a time, Louis had been Harry’s paid escort. Harry had ended that relationship, and Louis thought he would never see him again. They were reunited at the birthday party of a friend of Harry’s, and her brother had employed Louis to accompany him. Sebastian had not been someone that Harry was fond of and, when the pair of them got wind that he had tried to sell his story on Louis but had been blocked by Her Majesty the Queen - a distant relative of Sebastian’s - they couldn’t help but feel pleased. And smug.

After Sebastian’s failure to expose Louis’ past, Louis eventually stopped worrying about it happening. Conversely, Harry had no such concern about his own secret being revealed. There was no real risk of anybody finding out that he wasn’t truly eligible to be on the throne, and so the two of them settled into peace on the Isle of Smythe.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please [reblog the Tumblr post!](https://dinosaursmate.tumblr.com/post/177001029231/catfishau-whisper-in-my-ear-by)


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